A Path to Destiny
by leener
Summary: NOW COMPLETE! My interpretation of events of what took place after Heart of the Storm. Will everyone's destiny pan out as planned?
1. Chapter 1

A Path to Destiny

By Leener

Spoilers: Big spoilers for J&G's Summary. If you haven't read it and don't want to be spoiled, don't continue. If you're interested in reading the summary written by the writers of the show, it's at J&G's website but for some reason it won't let me post the website. If you need the site, message me and I'll be happy to point you to it. There are references to many season 3 episodes along with some other ones but I'm not going to list them all out. Mainly because if there are so many episodes you haven't seen, this story won't make sense to you.

Takes place right after Heart of the Storm

CHAPTER 1

"Mother! I thought you'd come to me! I thought you'd show me!"

The storm grew fiercer as the winds swirled around the treehouse faster than ever. The pain increased as Veronica screamed out in agony.

"Am I saving the plateau or destroying it! Am I the Protector!"

The trion glowed bright as the plateau went black.

OXOXOXO

"Don't do this, Icarus. Mankind will always have freewill. Don't listen to that machine!" But Challenger's pleas were either not heard by Icarus or he didn't possess the ability to help if he wanted to. He lowered the surgical instrument closer to Challenger's head and prepared to cut.

Suddenly, the door blasted open and a woman with fiery red hair came flying through along with several other men. Two of them attacked Icarus while the woman released Challenger from his restraints.

"Thank you, madam. I-"

"No time to talk, move!" She grabbed Challenger by the arm and roughly pushed him through the door and didn't wait to see if her men followed. Challenger could hear the machine screaming at them to stop as they ran down the exceedingly bright white corridor.

XOXOXOXO

The man raised his dagger in the air and prepared to bring it down. "Send us back, the shining wheel!"

"Roxton! Where are you?" Marguerite struggled in vain under the powerful grip of the druids pinning her to the altar. "Please, don't do this! My death won't stop the storm! I'm not the woman you're looking for!"

"She is correct."

All eyes turned to one of the hooded fingers standing at the altar. A pair of hands reached up and the hood lowered revealing a woman practically identical to Marguerite. "I am Morrighan, the woman you seek. You are fools to think you can stop me."

She chanted in a low voice that seemed almost familiar to Marguerite causing the men to hold her to loosen their grip. Marguerite used that as her chance to jump off the altar and disarm the druid wielding the dagger that would have ended her life. Two of the closest men turned to attack her but Morrighan pulled out a similar dagger from beneath her robes and killed the men with quick precision. "Run to whence you came. There is still time before the storm approaches."

Marguerite hesitated not wanting to leave the woman to the mercy of the other druids. "But—"

"Do not concern yourself with me. This is my fate, but it does not have to be yours. Now do not argue with me. Leave now!" Marguerite nodded her thanks because words would never be enough. She took one final glance at her mirror image battling the druids and ran out the cave entrance hoping to find another window to get her back to where she belonged.

XOXOXO

"Not here, anywhere but here!" Finn realized she was back to the one place she wished she wouldn't have to see again. She heard the roar of the engines long before she saw the cars and started running for the trees, hoping she didn't survive all that she had only to be caught by slavers now. Veronica was in pain at the treehouse and she had to find a way back.

Hopefully, if she made it to the jungle, she could hide long enough to find another shimmer to get her back so she could actually live out her future…in the past. This time travel stuff always hurt her head.

XOXOXOXO

"Marguerite, wherever you are, may it be a safer place than this." Seeing he was out of ammunition, Roxton threw his pistol aside and picked up a large branch. "Come on!" He charged for the nearest conquistador only to have him fall before he reached him. He looked down and realized he had heard a gun shot.

"Marguerite?" Roxton looked around hopefully when he heard more gunshots and saw the other conquistadors falling one by one. He dove behind a tree when he saw the remaining men raising their pistols at him. When they got close, he swung his branch and took out two of them.

When the gunfire ceased, he came out from behind his tree and saw all the remaining conquistadors were dead or too injured to be a threat. He picked up a pistol from the closest one. "Marguerite? Marguerite? Where are you?"

"I don't think I've ever been called that name before. Captain John Roxton will do."

Roxton turned at the sound of the voice and turned and came face to face with the very man he felt least likely to meet.

"Well, I can see why the buggers were hunting you, the physical resemblance is uncanny!" The captain circled Roxton in awe.

"Yes, well, I thank you for helping me out of what could have been a very nasty situation." Roxton awkwardly reached over and shook his savior's hand. "You wouldn't happened to have seen a woman with long dark hair did you? We became separated."

"No, I'm sorry to say I haven't. I would have noticed an out of place woman in the middle of the jungle."

Roxton looked disappointed and wondered how he was going to find Marguerite. He didn't know if she was back in their own time or if she was somewhere else. He didn't even know how he was going to get back himself. "Well thank you for all your help, I'm sure you'll want to get back to your ship and I have to go looking for my friend."

"Yes, of course. It was my pleasure, I do hope you find your friend. Good luck to you." With a nod of his head, Captain Roxton walked off leaving Roxton alone to begin his search.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

Veronica woke up in the treehouse and found herself looking into a pair of eyes she recognized immediately. "Ned! What are you doing here? How did you get here?" She reached over and hugged him tightly and nearly pushed him to the ground. Luckily he braced himself and prevented them from falling over.

"Hey take it easy, Veronica." He held her close and cherished the embrace. He was glad to see her back at the treehouse. He knew she'd make it back one day and was glad she was safe.

He stood up and helped Veronica who was still a little shaky on her feet. They both sat down in nearby chairs. "Are you all right, Veronica? I came in here and found you unconscious in the middle of the floor."

"Yes, I'm fine. It's so good to see you, Malone. I've missed you so much!" She reached over and hugged him again. She had to touch him to make sure he was really there.

"I missed you too, Veronica. You have no idea how much I thought about you while I was gone." He smiled and Veronica blushed.

"When did you get here, Malone?"

"Not that long ago, actually. It's funny because I don't even know how I got here. I was walking through the jungle when there was a shimmering thing in front of me and the next thing I knew I was at the base of the treehouse."

Veronica smiled but didn't care how Malone came back. He was back! That was all that mattered. So much had happened, so much she wanted to share with him. That's when she remembered what had happened recently. Veronica leapt up from her chair and went over to the balcony and let out a sigh of relief when she realized the plateau was still there as it was supposed to be.

Veronica reached up to her neck for her mother's pendant and realized it wasn't tied around her neck like it always was. She panicked before she realized it was lying on the floor where she was earlier. After placing it back around her neck, she felt a little calmer. Veronica grabbed her bag from the peg hanging by the elevator and stepped in.

"Veronica? Where are you going?" Malone watched Veronica's movements with confusion and followed her into the elevator.

"After our friends. They're in trouble. Or they were the last time I checked," Veronica said as she hit the controls to start the decent of the elevator.

"How do you know?" Malone asked.

"It's a long story Ned and I'll tell you on the way. But it was just a very strong feeling I had earlier. They need our help."

XOXOXOXO

Turns out, Veronica and Malone didn't have to venture very far from the treehouse to find their friends. One by one, they made their way back to the area surrounding the treehouse and it was a matter of stumbling into them. Their group grew larger as they searched for their remaining friends. Challenger was the last one to emerge from the jungle with a broad smile on his face when greeted by his friends.

"It's so good to see you all! Malone, you've come back to us! You'll never believe where I just was!" Challenger exclaimed, excited to tell of his adventure in the future.

"Well, we've all had quite the adventure, George. Let's get back to the treehouse and out of the open before we start sharing. Most of us are unarmed." Roxton was glad everyone was safe and sound, but preferred the pleasantries were saved until they were in familiar territory. He turned and led the way to the treehouse with his friends following.

XOXOXOXO

"John, you're telling me that you actually met your ancestor? He saved you?" Marguerite and the others all were sitting at the table in the main room, sharing their stories of what happened to them.

Roxton nodded. "That's right, Marguerite. I was out of ammunition and I was preparing to charge them and take as many of them with me as I could. That's when I started hearing gunshots, and for a moment I thought it was you. He ended up shooting the rest of the conquistadors, and after I thanked him, we parted ways and I went searching for you. I don't know how long I searched to find another shimmer trying to find you, Marguerite, but before I knew what happened, I must have stepped through one unknowingly and found myself in an area I recognized not far from the treehouse. That's when I started to make my way back and found you all."

"Well I'm sorry I missed meeting him. I would have loved to have talked to the infamous Captain Roxton." Marguerite smirked but didn't elaborate on their discussion about pirates. Roxton winked back as they had communicated their thoughts without having to speak.

"And what happened to you, Marguerite?" Malone asked. He was slowly but surely, getting caught up on all he had missed.

"Oh well, I never really knew where I was. I just kept hopping from place to place. You never knew where those damn windows would drop you." Marguerite looked at her friends gathered around. "It sounds like we were all lucky to have made it back in one piece."

Everyone whole heartedly agreed. While everyone else continued talking, Roxton, however, didn't buy Marguerite's story. When they were reunited in the jungle, she was clearly rattled by something and now she was acting as if nothing had happened. He reminded himself that he would talk to her later privately to see if he could get her to talk to him.

Roxton broke out of his train of thought when he heard Finn speaking. "So hold on a minute, you're telling me you were in the future? I mean further than where I come from?"

"That's right, Finn." Challenger was excited with the new knowledge he had gained from his trip. "In that future, machines had taken over, as highly unlikely as that seems. They had turned people into their slaves, that poor fellow who was about to kill me could not even think for himself. But the most important thing was, those machines wanted to study my mind because they thought I was a threat to them. They said I could stop that future from happening!"

"And how are you going to do that, Challenger?" Malone had just met Finn and grasped the concept of her being from the future where the entire world was destroyed, but to hear of another trip into the future was mind boggling. It certainly wasn't the first time he had encountered people who had time traveled, but it was something he wished he could have experienced for himself.

"Well, I have no ideas as of yet, Malone, but the very thought that I can help prevent what happens in Finn's time and stop those machines, gives us hope! This is what I had hoped for when Finn came back with us. If we can find a way off the plateau, we can warn everyone not just of Zoth, but of these machines!"

Malone frowned. "Now, I know I'm new to all of this and I wasn't here when this Zoth fellow came, but from what Finn says, he wasn't supposed to come out until her time right? He got out early?"

"Yep, that's right. He comes out when I'm just a kid and he destroys the entire world." Finn was glad her trip into the future lasted only a short while until she found another shimmering window and jumped through. That short trip was enough to make her even more determined to stop Zoth. She believed that Challenger and the rest of her friends could help her in saving the future.

"So when he was here, he was making plans to destroy the world, much like he would have done when he was in your time, right?" Malone asked Finn.

"Yeah, so what's your point?"

"Well, what if he got the ideas to destroy your world from Challenger's plans? I mean, you said that he used some of Challenger's previous inventions and modified them for his own twisted purposes. What if he because of him coming here, he uses those ideas when he escapes again in the future?"

Obviously, it wasn't an idea anyone had considered previously, and the thought scared them. Malone interpreted their silence in a different manner. "Well, it was just an idea. I wasn't here, so I was just thinking out loud."

"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Malone could be right." Marguerite sighed and then turned to Challenger.

"So I am responsible for the destruction of the future…his perversion of science, indirectly by my inventions, it's all my fault." Challenger's face fell as he remembered New Amazonia and the life Finn and countless others had been forced to live.

The others glanced at each other and knew they couldn't let Challenger blame himself. "But you saw his plans, Challenger, you know how to stop them. They are your inventions after all, you know how they work." Marguerite reached over and rested an arm on his shoulder. "And when you get us off this plateau, you will know what's coming and will be able to stop it."

"That's right, Challenger. If anyone can save the plateau and the rest of the world, it would be you. We all have faith in you, old boy." Roxton patted Challenger on the back and hoped he would listen to reason.

Challenger nodded and stood up. "Well, I have some things I need to check on in the lab before I turn in, so I'll say my good nights to you all."

They all wished Challenger good night and watched him go down the stairs to his lab.

"He didn't seem convinced to me." Veronica turned back to her friends. "We'll just have to try to keep his mind away from that kind of thinking."

"Yeah, we can cheer him up. Besides, we should be partying or something, we're all alive!" Finn smiled and promised herself she would spend extra time with Challenger in the lab tomorrow to make sure he knew she didn't blame him for what happened in the future.

"It's great you're back, Malone, we've certainly missed you around here, some more than others," Marguerite snuck a look at Veronica and hugged Malone.

"Thanks, Marguerite, it's good to be back. I missed you all too." Malone returned the hug and was glad that he managed to find himself back at the treehouse. He was already on his way home, but recent events cut his two week journey down to an instant and for that he was glad.

Marguerite stepped back and smiled. "Well, all this catching up and sharing of near-death experiences was a pleasure, but a girl needs her beauty sleep. So I'll see you all in the morning. Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Marguerite," they all chorused. Marguerite left to her own room, while Veronica and Malone cleared the table. When they finished, everyone wished each other good night as well, and headed off to their respective rooms to get some much deserved sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 

_Destruction was on the horizon as the darkness and the light continued their epic battle. The storm raged on and grew fiercer, with neither side gaining higher ground on the other…until she came._

_The woman who had the power to shift the tide to one side or the other. _

_She looked into the pleading eyes of the blond woman who wielded her medallion with all her remaining strength, and then into the eyes of evil itself. _

_It was all up to her._

_The last thing the dark haired woman saw was the betrayed look on the face of the Protector._

_And the world was changed forever._

Marguerite woke up gasping for breath until she realized she was in her room in the treehouse. Her body was still shaking and was covered in a sheen of perspiration. She ran her hand across her brow and took long breaths to steady her ragged breathing. It seemed so real for a dream, the details clearly burned into her mind, the look on Veronica's face as she betrayed her and destroyed the one place Marguerite had learned to call home.

Marguerite kicked off her sheets in frustration and started pacing the room. It didn't make sense. The storm that put her and her friends in danger was over. Everything was back to normal, even with Malone returning and settling back in as if he had never left.

But it still seemed so real. She betrayed Veronica and destroyed the plateau, possibly the world. Was she capable of that? Veronica had become closer to her than she ever thought possible. Marguerite had grown to love Veronica and the very thought of betraying her made her sick to her stomach.

As she paced, she tried to calm herself down. Nightmares happened all the time, after all. This wasn't her first and most certainly wouldn't be her last. A meaningless dream that would soon be forgotten.

"That's right, a dream, only a dream, that's all it was…. boy, do I need a stiff drink." Marguerite put on her silk robe and headed up the stairs to the common area. As she starting pouring, she kept replaying the dream in her mind. Her hand stilled as suddenly an image flashed in her mind. She put down her glass and moved to a chair and tried to work through the haze that was preventing her from seeing what she needed to see.

It was teetering on the edge of her consciousness. She was close, she knew it. Suddenly, she remembered. Marguerite jumped out of her chair and made her way to the book shelf. "Come on…where is it…..where is it?" She threw book after book behind her on the ground looking for the right one not knowing how much noise she was making. Before she knew it, she had woken up the entire treehouse.

"Marguerite? What are you doing?"

Marguerite turned around and saw Roxton putting away his gun with everyone, sans Finn, gathered behind him. "I'm just doing a little spring cleaning, Roxton. Nothing to be concerned about, you can all go back to bed."

"In the middle of the night? What's going on, Marguerite?" Veronica moved over to the large pile of books on the floor and started picking them up.

Marguerite replaced the books on their places on the shelf. "It's nothing, really, I just had this dream and I wanted to check on something."

"What kind of dream?" Roxton knew her well enough to see that she was holding something back. Something had to have been bothering her in order to get her so agitated in the middle of the night.

Marguerite sat down at the table where Challenger and Malone were already seated. "It's nothing worth mentioning, it was just a dream like any other. But I did see some symbols that I thought I recognized and wanted to check them out. Veronica, do you think I could take a look at your parents' journal? The one Malone found for you in the Hollow Earth?"

Veronica looked up from the pile of books and sighed. "Now? It's the middle of the night. Can't it wait until morning?"

"Please, Veronica, it'll only take a moment, I promise."

"All right, Marguerite. It's in my room, let me go get it." Veronica stopped cleaning and headed down the stairs.

"So, what kind of dream was it that you saw these symbols in, Marguerite?" asked Malone as he started a pot of coffee. He figured as long as he was up he should be up entirely.

"I don't remember, Malone. What does it matter anyways?" Malone frowned and Marguerite saw Roxton raise his eyebrows. He gave her a knowing look and she gave an inward sigh. It was endearing yet irritating that that man could know what she was thinking so easily. Feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of the three men, she got up out of her chair at Veronica's entrance and could feel them staring a hole into her back.

Veronica placed the book on the table and Marguerite hurriedly flipped to the last couple of pages that held the Celtic runes that she could not translate previously. Her eyes glided across the page until she finally found what she was looking for. She recognized several symbols on the pages that were in her dream. But that didn't surprise her.

She could understand what the symbols meant now.

"What is it, Marguerite? Why did you want to look at my parents' journal? What did you find? Do you know what it means?" Veronica looked at the journal over Marguerite's shoulder and tried to see what was keeping Marguerite so focused.

Marguerite looked annoyed as she closed the book. "Veronica, you've been spending too much time with Malone. Stop buzzing in my ear and give me a moment to think." Why all of a sudden could she understand the meaning of certain symbols? She had tried several times before to translate the runes for Veronica without success.

Marguerite was lost in thought when she heard someone shout her name square in her ear. "Bloody hell! What are you shouting for!" Marguerite grabbed her ear in irritation and shot a cold look at Challenger.

"We called you several times, my dear, but you didn't answer. Are you all right, Marguerite?" Challenger wore a look of concern which was mirrored by the rest of her friends.

"I'm sorry, Challenger, I was just thinking. I'm sure you all want some answers, but honestly, I'm not sure if I know what's happening myself." Marguerite sighed and ran her hands over her tired eyes.

"Why don't you just start at the beginning, Marguerite?" Roxton seated himself at her side and gave her a smile of encouragement.

"All right. Someone go wake up Finn so I don't have to repeat myself." Malone nodded and went down to get Finn while Marguerite poured herself a cup of coffee. She sighed and sat down and stared into her cup wondering how she was going to explain all this.

Roxton saw how she had withdrawn into herself. He was glad that she was willing to share with them but he knew whatever was bothering her was weighing her down. "You know, I'm surprised Finn is sleeping at all considering all that racket you were making."

Marguerite lifted her face and looked at the smirking face of the hunter. "Excuse me! I was not making a racket!" Roxton grinned as he saw his comment had the desired effect which of course set Marguerite off all the more. "You wipe that look of your face, Lord Roxton or-"

"Hey, what's goin' on that couldn't wait till morning? I was sleeping you know." Malone took his seat as Finn followed rubbing her eyes and hair sticking up in all angles. She sat down and put her face down on the table.

Marguerite forgot the meaningless threat she was going to speak when she saw Finn. She couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face at Finn's appearance. She reached over and patted down an area of hair that was sticking up. "I'm sorry, Finn, but everyone here demanded an explanation and I thought you might like to hear it as well."

Finn picked her head up off the table. "Hmm? What explanation? What'd you do?"

"I didn't _do_ anything! Why is everyone so quick to assume that I did something wrong! It's always Marguerite's fault isn't it? It's always Marguerite who's causing trouble!"

Marguerite's tone quickly woke Finn up. "Geez, what's your problem? I didn't mean anything by it. I was just wondering what was goin' on." Finn and the others looked at Marguerite and wondered what had suddenly made her snap.

Marguerite saw the looks and knew she had made a mistake. She sighed and cursed herself for showing her emotions so easily. "I'm sorry, Finn. I'm just a little tired." Marguerite looked down into her cup of coffee and sighed again.

Roxton reached over and rubbed her back in small, soothing circles. "Marguerite, what's bothering you?"

She looked up into the eyes of the man she loved and could see that he was worried about her. As she looked at all her friends, she could see the same of them. These people had become her family, the people she loved, though she would not admit it as freely as they might. She trusted each of them with her own life, and she would do anything to make sure they were safe. But it took time for those relationships to be forged, and they could be easily lost.

How would they react if they knew about her dream? A dream was a dream, after all. It didn't mean she would actually betray Veronica. But what if they didn't see it that way? What if they saw her as the type of person she was afraid she was her entire life? The type of woman her fantasy mother made her out to be; evil, selfish, capable of many treacherous things. She couldn't risk them seeing it, couldn't risk losing them. To lose them now would be unbearable.

Marguerite looked up and met Roxton's eyes. "Nothing's bothering me, I'm just thinking." She saw the look of skepticism on his face and knew she hadn't fooled him. She never could lie to the man as much as she tried. She quickly changed gears and went to the part of the story she could tell. "As I said before, I had a dream, and in this dream I saw some symbols. These symbols were bothering me because I thought I recognized them, and on a hunch I came up here looking for Veronica's journal. It turns out I was right, the symbols I saw in my dream were there."

"So, big whoop, you had a dream about some symbols. What's the big deal?" Finn wanted this story to be over so she could go back to sleep. Quite frankly, she could care less what Marguerite dreamed about.

"The big deal is, Finn, that I know what those symbols mean."

Everyone at the table's jaw dropped while Finn looked confused. "And? It's not like this is the first time you've figured out a language."

"Finn, when we first found this journal, I found markings in the last few pages that I couldn't understand. Of course, I thought Marguerite would be able to help me. She tried several times, but she wasn't able to understand them." Veronica turned her hopeful eyes to Marguerite. "Are you sure you can understand what it says? Will it help me find my mother?"

Marguerite didn't want to dash Veronica's hopes, but the truth was, she still couldn't read what was written. She could only understand a handful of the symbols now, but that was a far cry from deciphering the entire thing. "I can understand some of the symbols, Veronica, but I'm sorry, I still don't know what it says."

Veronica's face fell, "Oh, I see. Well, what do the symbols you know mean?"

"It's nonsense. Out of context, they're just random words, light, dark, three, something about weather…I'll try to see if I can figure out the rest, Veronica, but I can't make you any promises. I don't know why I suddenly know the meanings to these few symbols, but maybe the others will come to me too."

"Thank you, Marguerite. That's all I can hope for." Veronica reached over and hugged her. It wasn't much, but she had faith in Marguerite. One day, she would find Avalon and she would be reunited with her mother once again.

"Well, it is rather late, and we do have things to do in the morning. There's no rest for the wicked, they say. And you'll want to have a clear head for translating, my dear. Come, come, everyone back to bed." Challenger rose from his seat as did everyone else. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Challenger," they all chorused.

"Night everyone, I've got a date with my pillow." Finn gladly made her way back to her room to get the sleep she was interrupted from getting. She was glad to be included, but she would prefer it to be in the daytime.

The rest laughed as Finn made her way down the stairs. Malone said good night and made his way back to his room as well.

"Here, Veronica," Marguerite picked the journal up off the table to hand it to her, "thank you for letting me see it."

Veronica held up her hands. "Keep it with you, how can you work on the rest of the symbols if you don't have them in front of you?"

"Well, I don't need it right this very minute. Don't you want to hold onto it?" Marguerite asked.

"Why? I trust you." Veronica smiled and hugged her once more. Marguerite returned the hug but couldn't help the images that were triggered by her words. Marguerite inwardly cringed every time she saw Veronica's face. "Good night, Marguerite, and thanks again."

Veronica turned and headed down the stairs. Marguerite started to clear the table, when she saw that Roxton had not left with the others. He was looking at her with his 'I know something is bothering you' look. She smiled at him to reassure him, but she could tell it hadn't worked. She hadn't even fooled herself. But she wasn't going to tell him anything and Roxton knew it. He held out his arm instead. "An escort to your room, milady?"

"Why, thank you, Lord Roxton." She took his arm and let him walk her to her doorway. "Good night, John."

"Good night, Marguerite." He started to leave but turned around. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but you do know that we are all here for you, Marguerite." It wasn't a question, but a fact.

Marguerite smiled. "Yes, I do know. Thank you, John."

After a quick slight of his head and a smile, he turned and walked in the direction of his own room. Marguerite took off her robe and got back into bed, and tried to ignore the images that wouldn't stop replaying in her mind, and hoped for a little sleep that night.

A/N: More to come soon, reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for those of you who left a review, they're much appreciated! I would have had this up sooner but the site wouldn't let me upload for some reason.

A/N 2: I forgot to mention earlier, for those of you who read the summary already, you'll see I've left some things out like Roxton getting switched with Captain Roxton, Malone coming back with a wife, and things like that because if I were to include _everything_, this story would be like a thousand pages long!

CHAPTER 4

"Hey, Challenger, whatcha doin'?" Finn had bounded down the stairs to the lab fully intent on making sure Challenger hadn't fallen into a funk from last night's conversation. She jumped into the chair next to Challenger and peered over his shoulder to see what he was working on.

"Hmm…? Oh, after I returned I retrieved Arthur from his jar down at the base of the treehouse, and I'm trying to figure out a logical explanation of how he spun himself a cocoon."

"So did you figure out how a beetle spun a cocoon yet?"

Challenger placed the jar back down on the table. "Beetles do not spin cocoons. Logically, it is not possible. But we both saw Arthur before this; he was a beetle. It does not make sense."

"Well, we've seen crazier things happen here. Why don't ya just wait and see what pops out of there when it hatches. Maybe you'll understand then?" Finn placed her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. She peered into the jar and frowned. "Hey Challenger, how long do these things usually stay in their cocoons?"

"Well, Finn, in normal circumstances I would tell you it varies by species and I would tell you the time it takes for transformation based on that particular one, but as I told you before, beetles do not spin cocoons, therefore I have no point of reference. I really have no idea how long Arthur will be in there. We will just have to wait and see." Challenger got up from his chair and walked over to his notes and started going through them.

Finn looked away from the cocoon and back at Challenger. "Hey Challenger, do you need some help with an experiment or something? I've got time to help if you need it."

Challenger looked up from his notes, "Oh, that is nice of you, Finn, but I'm currently not working on an experiment, I'm just going over a few details."

Finn had a hunch on what he was thinking about and wasn't going to let him continue down that path. "Hey, I'm hungry, why don't we go grab something to eat?"

"You go ahead, Finn, I'm not hungry at the moment."

"Oh come on, I don't wanna eat alone, you can keep me company if you're not hungry. And we can see what everyone else is doing too."

Challenger sighed and put down his papers. "Very well."

"Great!" Finn jumped up and ran up the stairs with Challenger following.

Finn found Marguerite sitting at the table exactly where she was when she first passed by her down to Challenger's lab. "Still no luck with the translating, Marguerite?"

Marguerite paused her writing and glared up at Finn, but didn't comment. "Ooookay, I'll take that as a no." Finn started fixing Challenger and herself some lunch and glanced back at the heiress. "Where is everyone else Marguerite?"

"Veronica and Malone went to the Zanga village. Veronica wanted to check on them and make sure no one was missing or hurt after the storm and of course Malone went with her."

"And what about the Big Guy?" Finn asked.

"He went down to chop wood." Marguerite sighed in frustration and put down her pencil. Finn's interruption wasn't bothering her. The truth of the matter was she wasn't making much progress. The few symbols she had recognized from her dream were all that she could make out. What frustrated her more was that she knew she recognized the language, as if she could read it at one point in time but she had just forgotten how. It seemed that the more she tried, the harder it got to understand what the symbols meant.

Challenger sat down in the chair next to Marguerite. Finn looked at the both of them and saw they were both wearing nearly identical expressions. She set a plate in front of Challenger and turned to Marguerite. "You hungry, Marguerite? I could fix you up something if you want."

Marguerite smiled. "Thank you, Finn, but I'm not very hungry. I think I'm going to go lay down in my room."

"Ok, Marguerite." Finn grabbed her own plate and sat down next to Challenger to enjoy her lunch. Nearly halfway through, they heard the elevator sound and saw Roxton step into the room.

"Hey, Big Guy."

"Hello, Roxton."

Roxton placed his pile of wood down in its proper spot and nodded a greeting. "Hello Finn, Challenger."

"Me and Challenger are just finishing eating, but if you want I could fix you up something."

"Challenger and I, Finn," Challenger added after he swallowed his mouthful of food.

"What? You and yourself? What about me?"

Roxton chuckled at Finn, "No thank you, I'm going to go wash up. Where's Marguerite?"

Challenger stopped explaining that he was correcting Finn's grammar and let her answer Roxton while he continued eating. "She was in here translating when we came up for lunch, but then she said she was gonna go lay down. I think her not gettin' anywhere is gettin' to her."

Roxton nodded, "Yes, she's been working with no breaks for quite some time. Did she eat anything at least?"

Finn and Challenger both shook their heads and Roxton sighed. "Well, I'll check on her after I wash up."

"Ok, Big Guy."

XOXOXOXO

Marguerite had come into her room and taken a wash cloth to her tired eyes. She then went straight to her bed and tried to gain back some of the sleep she lost from the previous night.

She immediately fell asleep but it wasn't the deep, restful sleep she was hoping for. Once again, the same dream was conjured up in her mind. Whether she was awake or asleep, she couldn't escape the images or the unease they brought her.

Every time she saw the dream, it seemed to last a little longer, as if she was searching for something, but she couldn't imagine what. The torture of watching her own betrayal again and again was almost too much to bear.

Foot steps on the stairs eased her into a semi-conscious state and by the time the hand pulled back the curtain and the person stood beside her bed, she was fully awake. She opened her eyes and looked into the worried eyes of Roxton.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"That's all right, I would rather be awake at the moment." She sat up on the bed as Roxton sat in the chair beside her bed.

"Marguerite," Roxton began, "I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

"You've hardly eaten a thing these past few days. You look tired. Are you even sleeping? And I can tell there is something else bothering you. I know something happened to you during the storm and something happened to the other night."

Marguerite once again sighed because she knew he would corner her sooner or later. He always knew when she was off balance, as if his internal radar was set to her and not himself. She knew he would try to help her, no matter what she told him, but how could she explain what was happening to her when she didn't understand it herself?

Roxton reached over and took one of Marguerite's hands in his and used the other to touch her cheek. She leaned into his hand and looked into his eyes again. "Marguerite, trust me, let me help you."

Marguerite took her free hand and joined it with the one that Roxton had on her face and brought it down next to the other joined pair. "I _do_ trust you, John, but—"

She felt his hands tighten around her own, "No buts, Marguerite, just tell me. You are not alone here and it's about time you realized it."

Marguerite nodded and decided to start at the beginning. "Remember that cave we were trapped in? The one we almost didn't make it out of?"

Roxton nodded, despite the fact that they almost died there, he had fond memories of that place. She had finally told him she loved him there. It wasn't a place he'd likely ever forget.

"Well, that's where I went after I disappeared when we were with the conquistadors." Marguerite paused before continuing. "Well, actually I was in the jungle first when some men, druids to be more exact, came out of nowhere and took me to the cave."

"Druids? Didn't we have a dream about druids when we were at the cave?"

Marguerite frowned, "I almost forgot about that. In my dream, they called me Morrighan and said I was their high priestess. These druids who captured me called me Morrighan as well, and said that I had created a storm that would destroy them. This can't be a coincidence, John. I just don't know what it all means!"

"We'll figure it out together, Marguerite." He gave her a reassuring smile. "What happened after they took you to the cave, Marguerite?"

"After they told me about the storm and how I created it, I tried to tell them they had the wrong person but they didn't listen to me. They took me in the cave and it looked familiar. It's when they put on the altar and were preparing to sacrifice me, that I recognized it."

"Oh god, Marguerite." Roxton got up and sat next to Marguerite on the bed.

"They were going to kill me, Roxton. I was sure that the body we found in the cave was mine, and not some distant relative. Then a woman saved me. I swear to you Roxton, she looked exactly like me. She told me to leave….they killed her, John. It was her we found in there."

Roxton didn't realize how close he had come to losing Marguerite. He pulled her close and held her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, Marguerite. But I'm glad she saved you, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

Marguerite nodded against his shoulder and pulled back. "After that I wandered through the jungle trying to find a way back. I was lucky to have gotten back in one piece, the druids took my pistol and I had no weapons. I was relieved when I managed to find you all finally."

"Sounds like we all had quite the adventure, hmm?"

"Yes, I guess we did." Marguerite smiled.

"And what about the other night, Marguerite?" Roxton asked.

Marguerite's smile faded. "I told you, I had a dream, recognized some symbols, that's all."

Roxton frowned. "I know something is bothering you, Marguerite. Why are you so determined to translate the journal now? Veronica has had it for months and you've never shown this much interest in it before."

"That was before I knew what the symbols meant. If I keep at it, I might be able to figure out the rest."

"No one expects you to figure it out immediately, Marguerite. You're going to make yourself sick if you keep going like this. Take a break, work on it tomorrow, maybe it'll make more sense to you then."

Marguerite stood up from her bed. "No, Roxton, I can't wait, I have to figure it out now."

Roxton stood up as well. "Why Marguerite? Why can't it wait?"

"Because, Roxton! I have to do it, now! You wouldn't understand!"

"Marguerite, I—" Marguerite was already half way up the stairs to the main room. Roxton bit back a growl of frustration and left her room. He couldn't force it out of her, but sooner or later he'd find out what was bothering her. Until then, he would just have to keep an eye on her.

A/N: Reviews are appreciated! Chapter 5 coming soon!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone! They're much appreciated. I'm glad you're all enjoying the story!

CHAPTER 5

The members of the treehouse stopped their conversation and looked in the direction of the elevator as they heard it ascending.

Veronica and Malone came into view and before anyone could shout out a greeting to them, Veronica ran towards them grief stricken.

"They're gone! They're all gone!"

Marguerite got out of her chair and stood next to Veronica. "Who's gone, Veronica?"

"The Zanga! All of them! They're all gone!" Veronica rarely lost control, but the hysterical tone of her voice started to worry everyone.

"Malone, what does she mean?" Roxton asked.

"Just what she said, Roxton, there's no sign of the Zanga anywhere. We looked all over the valley for them, but it's just like they disappeared without a trace!" Malone sighed and sat down in one of the empty chairs. He was exhausted, but Veronica was pacing in front of them.

Challenger walked over to Veronica and steered her towards a chair. "There were no tracks or something in the village to indicate where everyone went, Veronica?"

"Yeah, Vee, maybe you missed something. We can all come back and help you search the entire village." Finn smiled reassuringly.

"You can't, Finn." Veronica took a deep breath and looked up. "When I said the Zanga were gone, I didn't mean just the people, I mean there's no Zanga Village, period! There isn't even a sign to show that someone used to live there."

"Yeah," Malone added, "it's like the Zanga don't exist."

"That's not possible, there has to be a logical explanation for this." Challenger took the chair next to Veronica and appeared to be lost in thought. "I need to check some things in my lab, but I suggest tomorrow, that all of you go and do a wide spread search of the area surrounding the Zanga Village. Look for anything that seems out of place. For now, there's nothing more we can do. Veronica," Challenger reached over and grasped her hand, "you and Malone need to eat something and then rest. You will need your strength for tomorrow."

Veronica nodded her headed solemnly and started to get out of her seat, but Finn put her arms on her shoulders and pushed her lightly back in her seat. "It's ok, Vee, you sit down and I'll fix you and Malone some dinner, the rest of us already ate." Veronica nodded her thanks and smiled.

"I'm going to go wash up before dinner. Excuse me." Malone pushed back his chair and walked down the stairs to his room.

"Veronica," Marguerite began, "I'm really sorry about Assai and the other Zanga, and I hope you do find them soon."

Veronica looked up from the spot at the table she was staring at and smiled at Marguerite. "Thank you."

"But if you don't mind, I want to stay behind tomorrow and try to keep working on these translations. You'll have Roxton and Finn to help you tomorrow, as well as Malone, and I'm not much of a tracker. I think I can at least try to help you this way."

Veronica sat quiet for a moment and considered Marguerite's words. The time had long passed where she might have suspected Marguerite was trying to get out of a hike through the jungle just to sit and relax in the treehouse. She knew that Marguerite was sincere in wanting her to find Assai and the rest of her friends, and that she also wanted to help her find her mother. "That's fine, Marguerite. I really appreciate you spending so much time trying to translate the journal. It really does mean a lot to me."

"It's not a problem, I'm glad to help." Marguerite smiled and turned back to the journal. Finn had brought two plates to the table as Malone took his seat. Everyone sat there and kept them company while Marguerite continued to think.

She kept finding it harder and harder to be around Veronica and the others while acting as if nothing was bothering her. She felt as if she was slowly losing her sanity. Her dream plagued her incessantly during the day. When she was in the middle of a thought, it would flash in her mind, when she closed her eyes, it was there. The more she kept having her dream, the more and more she felt as if it was not simply a dream.

Marguerite was not one to believe in visions but couldn't help remember the time when she had a vision of Dame Alice killing Challenger. At the time she dismissed it as coincidence, but how many more times would the same excuse be viable? This was one time where she truly wished that's simply all it was.

How was it possible for her to feel guilty over something she hadn't done? No matter how much she dismissed it and told herself she would never betray her family, the dream would return to haunt her. It made her feel helpless that when she closed her eyes she could not stop the images that came to her.

Maybe that was why she felt the strong need to figure out the runes. Would she have put in such an effort if she had not been plagued with the visions she saw? Of course she would have, she told herself. If there was a chance that Veronica could find her mother, she would do what was in her power to help. The past few years she lived in the treehouse with Veronica, she honestly felt there was no hope for her parents to return alive. But with recent events, she was truly happy Veronica learned their true fate. At least one of them had found peace. And while she herself had always wondered about her parents, sometimes she thought she would be better off not knowing the truth for fear it would hurt too much to know. Even though Veronica's father was dead, she had eleven happy years with him and the hope she would find her mother one day.

She would not be the one to take that hope away from her. These runes held the key to finding Veronica's mother. She didn't know how she knew it, but deep down, she knew it somehow. Just like she knew that if she worked hard enough, she would able to figure the language out. She owed it to Veronica to do everything in her power to translating the symbols.

XOXOXOXO

_Destruction was on the horizon as the darkness and the light continued their epic battle. The storm raged on and grew fiercer, with neither side gaining higher ground on the other…until she came._

_The woman who had the power to shift the tide to one side or the other. _

_She looked into the pleading eyes of the blond woman who wielded her medallion with all her remaining strength, and then into the eyes of evil itself. _

_It was all up to her._

Marguerite tossed and turned in her bed. She knew what was coming, but she had no power to stop it. Each time her dream came back, she fought and fought but had no power against her own actions. It left her feeling helpless, it was her dream and her mind, and damn it, she should be able to control it.

_Her mind kept screaming for her to stop, but she couldn't control her own hands. Once again she looked into those eyes that haunted her day and night and screamed a scream that wasn't heard. She turned her gaze to the man and couldn't help the shiver that ran through her body. She heard him speak to her in a language that she hadn't heard up until that point. It was no new thing to her; she constantly read or heard languages and never had a problem with figuring them out, whether it was a dead language or a new one. This time, her mind was not quick to provide a translation like it almost always would. The words floated on the edge of her consciousness. She was reminded of the sensation she had when she read the language in Veronica's journal. She recognized the words but couldn't understand them. She also remembered her frustration of not being able to figure out the language._

_She knew the languages were similar but automatically knew they were different. How?-she hadn't heard the language in the journal spoken aloud, but it was a gut feeling she had, and she knew by now to trust her instincts. _

_All of this contemplating happened in a mere blink of an eye before Marguerite realized that this had never happened in her other tortured nights. She saw the man who eyes she dared not meet open his mouth to speak again._

"_Marguerite…"_

_Marguerite felt the walls around her start to shake and turned to see the Protector fall beneath the crumbling ceiling._

_She felt the ground beneath her shake and the man screamed out her name._

"Marguerite! Wake up, damn it!"

Marguerite opened her eyes with a startled gasp and saw Roxton hovering over her and the rest of her friends gathered around her bed. Roxton let out a sigh of relief when she finally woke up. He shook her and cried out her name several times and was just short of slapping her to wake her up.

Marguerite realized Roxton's hands still had a firm grip on her shoulders and shook them off angrily. "What the hell are you doing! And what are you all doing in my room?"

"We heard you cry out, my dear," Challenger began, clearly concerned. "We were worried you were hurt."

Marguerite quickly realized she must have cried out during her dream and mentally cursed herself. She forced a tight smile on her face and addressed her friends. "Well, as you all can see, I'm perfectly fine. Sorry you had to disturb your sleep for nothing. You should all go back to bed."

Veronica reached over and touched Marguerite's arm. "Are you sure you're all right, Marguerite?"

Marguerite was proud of herself for not letting her smile falter even when Veronica touched her. She nodded and started to shoo them out. "Yes, I am positively sure. Now get out and let me get my beauty sleep or I will be grumpy tomorrow."

"More than usual? We better hurry out then!" Malone laughed at his own joke but didn't duck fast enough to avoid the flying pillow as it hit him square in the face. He caught it before it hit the ground and tossed it back on the bed, chuckling. He followed the others out after wishing her a good night and sweet dreams.

Marguerite smiled a true smile at the concern her friends showed her, but when she saw Roxton had not moved from his spot on her bed, she frowned. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Well?"

He mimicked her movements and added a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"As much as I am _enjoying_ your company, Lord Roxton," Marguerite stated with a very detectable hint of sarcasm, "I would like to go back to sleep and I don't want to have to get out of bed and cause you bodily harm kicking you out."

Roxton merely chuckled at her threat which only annoyed Marguerite all the more. She appreciated the fact that her friends were concerned for her, and somewhere deep down, _very_ deep down, she was touched that Roxton was worried about her. But at the moment, that feeling was buried so far beneath the surface, it didn't register with her. She was still irritated that he had interrupted her dream when she was finally making progress. Mind you, she wasn't enjoying herself, but through the torment, she was finally on the verge of discovering something which might have even caused an end to the dreams. She wasn't ready to forgive him for taking the chance away before she could find out what it was.

Roxton quickly sobered and the look of concern was on his face again. "Marguerite," he began, "we have to talk about this. I know there's something you're not telling me and I can see it's taking its toll on you. I thought I would give you a few days of space, but I can see you've gotten even less sleep and are hardly eating."

"No."

Roxton wore a look of confusion. "No?"

"I wasn't aware that I had to share every detail with you, Roxton, and at the moment, I am not feeling like sharing. So I'll ask you nicely for the last time, can you please leave?"

He looked like he wanted to argue, she could see it plainly in his posture and the look in his eyes, but for some reason, he decided to listen to her. And for that, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't think this is over, Marguerite. As stubborn as you are, I'm not going to let you kill yourself slowly. Good night." He got up and stalked up the stairs and she snorted at his retreating form.

"If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is." She sighed and reluctantly tried to get comfortable and get back to sleep.

A/N: Reviews are appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

That morning was a quiet one at the treehouse. After a quick breakfast, Roxton, Malone, Veronica, and Finn set out to search for the Zanga Village again. It was their fifth day searching, and they still had no luck. Their search had widened, but they weren't going to give up any time soon. Despite the fact that they were Veronica's friends, the residents of the treehouse knew they owed their lives to the Zanga several times over and wouldn't give up till they found out what happened to them.

It was a somber morning for Challenger and Marguerite as well. Marguerite continued to work hard on the symbols in front of her, and was still met with no luck. Challenger spent all day in his lab trying to think of a possible reason why the Zanga would have disappeared while at the same time having the scientific puzzle of Arthur in a cocoon laughing in his face day after day.

Just when Marguerite was about to give up and take a break, she heard a shout come from downstairs in Challenger's lab. Since she couldn't tell if it was a shout of pain or excitement, she raced down the stairs as quickly as she could.

"Challenger! Are you all right?"

Challenger turned away from the table and saw Marguerite and hurriedly waved her over. "Come here, Marguerite, you must see this!"

Assured his health wasn't at risk, Marguerite walked over to stand beside him. "You know, George, the next time you want my attention a simple 'Marguerite, could you come here a moment?' would do the trick."

Challenger looked chagrined before he remembered why he shouted out. "Take a look at this, Marguerite, and tell me what you see!" He gestured over to the glass jar where everyone knew held the cocooned Arthur, but found only an empty husk and no Arthur.

"Where is he, George? What happened to him?" Marguerite looked around the table and didn't see any sign of the beetle.

Challenger took hold of Marguerite and maneuvered her to another table and couldn't believe her eyes. "Is that…?"

"Yes! That's Arthur!" Challenger stepped forward and gestured to the 'thing' on the table. "When I saw him at first, I didn't recognize him. He certainly looked odd, he'd changed colors, he was a gold color and he didn't look like exactly like a beetle, and he certainly didn't look alive." At Marguerite's skeptical look, Challenger elaborated. "What I mean to say is, he looked like a magnificent creature yes, but he looked like a piece of decoration, a statuette or something of the sort. When I moved to pick it up, it sprang to life."

"Sprang to life? It, or he, or whatever, doesn't seem to be moving right now. It looks like one of your contraptions. Certainly doesn't look like it could have ever been alive." Marguerite leaned closer and reached out a tentative hand towards it. "Can I?"

Challenger nodded to Marguerite and while she examined 'Arthur' for herself, Challenger continued his story. "So after I touched it, it started to open up. On its back, I guess we can call it, several layers started to unfold and spread apart revealing what you see now. I'm not quite sure what 'Arthur' is, but I believe I was right in saying that he is not an ordinary beetle."

"I certainly agree with that." Marguerite looked at the several layers that Challenger described and noticed that the way they were arranged in a specific pattern. To the untrained eye, it was simply a gorgeous display. The several layers seemed to form wings on either side of the body, and were filled with vivid colors.

Marguerite saw that the wings, while beautiful, were more than that. Each of the separate pieces that opened up to form the wings seemed to have markings on them that came together to create the beautiful effect of the wings. She stepped back and her agile mind quickly pieced together what she saw and her jaw dropped in amazement. "Challenger! Do you know what this is?"

Challenger looked at 'Arthur' and back at Marguerite. "Well, I'm not altogether sure, what this is. I'm positive it isn't a beetle, but other than that, no. I need to run some tests to-"

"That's not what I mean, Challenger! Look at the wings! What do you see?" Marguerite watched Challenger as he looked and saw it in his eyes the moment he figured it out.

"But that's impossible!"

"Challenger, in the past weeks, you've gone into the future twice, had your body possessed while you were trapped in limbo, talked to a dead man, saw a beetle spin a cocoon, faced the end of the world as we knew it, and you still believe in things being impossible?"

"But, how could Arthur start out as a beetle and open up to hold a map of the plateau? This defies the laws of science." Challenger looked again and could not deny his eyes. When you put together both wings and looked closely, the landmarks of the plateau were obvious.

Marguerite broke her gaze away from the map and back to Challenger. "Now the obvious question is, George, why in the world did this happen?"

"I don't know, Marguerite, but I intend to find out."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"What do you mean, he's a map? How can a beetle turn into a map?" Malone was tired from his day long search coupled with the searches from the previous days and wasn't ready to accept the story. He'd heard a lot of far fetched things, especially since he started his three year stay on the plateau, but he knew that Marguerite wasn't above pulling his leg when she could.

"How can a beetle spin a cocoon, Malone? How the bloody hell do I know? But I know what I saw, and so does Challenger. Go take a look for yourself if you don't believe me." Marguerite was more than slightly annoyed at having to be the one to explain to the others what happened in the lab, but she had to admit, if she did it, it would definitely be a shorter story in the long run than if Challenger had told it. She was tired, and could tell that the others had been too and they wanted nothing more to do than eat and rest.

"I think I'll do that." Malone rose out of his seat and made his way down the stairs and Finn found her curiosity peaked as well and bounded after him.

"You do that," Marguerite mumbled under her breath and shot an irritated glare at his retreating back. She turned back to the others and saw Veronica's somber expression and sighed. "Still no sign of them I take it?"

Veronica shook her head. "I don't know where else to look for them, Marguerite. I'm beginning to think we'll never find them."

"Don't talk like that. I'm sure you'll find them soon, don't give up hope, Veronica. It's one of the things I admire about you. You're always optimistic even when it grates on my nerves." Marguerite smiled when she saw that she managed to get Veronica to smile as well.

"Yes, we'll keep looking until we find them, Veronica. Of that you can be sure." Roxton smiled reassuringly at Veronica and she nodded. "What's for dinner? I'm starved."

"I don't know," Marguerite rose out of her chair, "I was so busy today, I didn't make anything, and I know Challenger didn't."

"Well, you can sit down, I'll find something to cook, after all, we want to be able to eat it afterwards." Roxton grinned at the look of anger on Marguerite's face and practically ran into the kitchen.

"You can run, Roxton, but I know where to find you!" Marguerite took her seat with a huff, not altogether minding the slightly higher mood that settled into the treehouse. There was an underlying despondency, but a quiet night at home spent with friends, was always appreciated. Especially after all the things that had befallen this close group of friends lately.

A/N: Again, I want to say thank you for sparing your time to leave such lovely reviews, they make my day! They are very much appreciated. :)


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The next morning started out with a simple breakfast, as usual. No one was surprised that Marguerite looked tired, she had looked the same way for the last week and they were used to it. And they knew by now not to comment on it because they remembered the verbal lashings they had received previously for mentioning it.

Plans were made for the day, which were the same as the previous day's plan. Marguerite and Challenger still stayed behind at the treehouse while the others expanded their search even further. They were using the Zangas' last known location as a center point and branching out in all possible directions from there to make sure nothing escaped them. So far they had no luck, but they kept searching hoping that the next day would bring them something positive to latch on to.

They bid their goodbyes to start their search leaving Marguerite and Challenger to start their own duties. Challenger immediately went down to his lab and Marguerite settled into her chair to start her almost impossible task. Every now and again, the meaning of a symbol would randomly pop into head, but her job was no less daunting. Her dream still plagued her, but it seemed that each night she saw it, she saw something that she didn't see before. She was still mystified as to why she kept seeing it and why she couldn't get rid of it. She was starting to believe that all these years on the plateau were starting to drive her mad.

Marguerite admitted to herself that the little progress she made on the translation was still no better than before when she knew absolutely nothing. Random words here and there still didn't help her in figuring out what it actually said. Giving up for the moment, Marguerite stood up and went to stand on the balcony. She took a look at the landscape and admitted that on days like this, the plateau really was a beautiful place. If you managed to forget about all the dangers, that is.

She sat down in one of the chairs and listened to the usual sounds of the jungle and looked at the familiar scenery. She closed her eyes, but reopened them quickly. She jumped to her feet and looked out into the jungle again. She rushed into the main room and grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked out again.

"Challenger! Challenger!" She threw the binoculars carelessly to the ground and ran down the stairs to the lab. She saw him hovering over 'Arthur' examining the map and ran over and grabbed his arm. "Challenger! Hurry!"

"Good heavens, Marguerite! What's the matter?" He took hold of her hand that was pulling his sleeve and tried to get her to stop.

"Just come with me, George!" She grabbed his arm and practically pulled him up the stairs. She pushed him over to the balcony where she was standing moments ago. "Look out there! How we could have missed something this obvious, I don't know!"

Challenger looked out into the jungle and frowned, not knowing what he was looking at. "What am I looking for, Marguerite? All I see is the normal sights of the plateau."

"No, this is not normal, Challenger. Look to the east and tell me what you see. Or rather what you _don't_ see." She pointed off the balcony and when Challenger opened his mouth to say something, probably to question her again, she stopped him by turning him in that direction herself. "Just do it, George."

He sighed but did what he was told. He looked out and saw the sun in its normal position, and knew that wasn't what she was talking about. He looked over the normal tree tops and saw the occasional pterodactyl and still couldn't find what Marguerite had dragged him all the way upstairs for. He looked farther into the distance and frowned. "Where are the Krux Mountains?"

"They're not there, Challenger, that's what I wanted to show you! Then I looked around and noticed lots of things were missing. The inland sea is gone and the Summerlee Falls are gone too! And I know for a fact that that clearing to the west just past that range of trees was not there before! Are we even on the plateau anymore? We already know the Zanga Village is gone too!"

Challenger frowned and gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Well, we must be on the plateau, there is no other place that would have dinosaurs. And we are still in the treehouse, and there's no reason for us to not be on the plateau…hmm, this is quite the conundrum."

Marguerite saw Challenger starting to slip into his 'I'm thinking about something fascinating and I'm ignoring you' mode and decided to stop him before he was too far gone. "George! Now's not the time to marvel, we need to figure out what's going on around here!"

Several emotions flitted across Challenger's face: surprise, irritation, and resolve. "Calm down, Marguerite, and please give me a moment to think. Jumping to conclusions will not help the situation any."

Marguerite resisted the urge to speak and bit back the retort that was on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she crossed her arms and started tapping her foot impatiently waiting for Challenger to come up with something.

"All right," Challenger started speaking and Marguerite was relieved he didn't keep her waiting to long, "the first thing we need to do is see what we're dealing with."

"And how do we do that?"

"Well, if you remember several days ago, we were planning to take a journey-"

"The balloon!"

If Challenger was annoyed at the interruption, he didn't show it. He instead nodded and started again. "You and I will go up and have a look about and see what we're dealing with."

Marguerite frowned. "Just us? What about the others?"

"There's no sense in waiting for them to return and wasting an entire day. We can go up ourselves and see what we're dealing with." Challenger turned and started to head down to his lab.

"Where are you going, George?"

"I need a few things from my lab, Marguerite," Challenger said without turning around, "and then we can be on our way."

She watched him go down the stairs and sighed. "Well, I guess I'll just wait here."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The balloon was still set up and hadn't been dismantled seeing as how things were chaotic over the past week. After getting rid of unnecessary cargo, Marguerite and Challenger took to the skies.

"Challenger, this may seem like a stupid question, but why on earth did you bring that with you?"

Challenger looked down at the sophisticated map and shrugged. "I thought it might be helpful to have a map of the plateau with us."

"You couldn't have found a map that took up more space?" Marguerite rolled her eyes but suspected that Challenger didn't want to be separated from the thing until he figured out what it was and how it worked.

As if it heard what Marguerite said, the map folded in upon itself and turned back into the small gold quasi-beetle that Challenger saw beforehand. "Did you see that!" Challenger looked at the object in his hand in complete awe.

"Bloody hell!" Marguerite reached over and took it from Challenger's hand and looked at it closely. "Are you sure you found this thing in the middle of the jungle?"

Challenger took it back from Marguerite's hands and looked at it closely. "Hmm, I didn't notice this before. Mind you, I didn't have a close look at it before it transformed before my eyes…." Challenger trailed off as he touched something on the backside of the beetle. Immediately after, the wings opened up again revealing the map. "Remarkable! There's a slight depression on the back that opens the map. Like a button!"

Marguerite looked at the contraption in Challenger's hands curiously. "So how do you get it to close?" As soon as she finished her sentence, the wings again closed and reverted back to its beetle form.

"Amazing! It seems to react to verbal commands. This is fascinating! Obviously what I found previously was no mere beetle, this has to be some sort of advanced machinery, the likes of which I have never seen!"

Marguerite nodded her head in agreement but quickly shook off her own bedazzlement. "Well, let's deal with one thing at a time, George, we still have work to do up here."

"Quite right." Challenger looked out into the distance, his eyes constantly scanning. "Most curious. Marguerite, does that look like the Malone Rift to you?" Challenger pointed off to their left and she followed his finger.

Marguerite looked through her pair of binoculars and nodded her head. "It certainly does, George. But what is it doing there?"

"I'm not sure, Marguerite." Challenger made a rough drawing of the rift on a blank sheet of paper and started scanning again. "Ah, there are the Summerlee Falls." Challenger made another drawing, this time he drew it on the far right side of the paper.

"What?" Marguerite squinted into the distance, "The Summerlee Falls aren't that far away. It would take days, maybe even weeks to travel that far by foot!"

"Obviously something very drastic has happened to the plateau to cause a shift like this."

"Challenger, do you know what's happening?"

Pausing briefly from his sketching, he regarded Marguerite carefully. "I have an idea, but I do not want to say until I am absolutely certain. When I finish some of these sketches, we'll head back to the treehouse."

Marguerite didn't want to wait until later to find out what was going on, she wanted to know now. She realized that if she put her mind to it, she could get Challenger to tell her, but then dismissed the idea. It was better for her to wait, that way she would be guaranteed to only having to hear his explanation once. "Sure, George."

A/N: Let me know what you think so far please!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks for reviews guys, I really appreciate it! For the one who asked about Malone and Veronica shippiness, this story is mainly focused on Marguerite and Veronica and their prospective destinies. So far now there is very little romance, but that doesn't mean there won't be later on down the line...

CHAPTER 8

After Marguerite and Challenger returned to the treehouse, they split up to take care of different tasks. While Challenger went down into his lab, Marguerite stayed at the base of the treehouse catching up on some of the chores that had been neglected the past couple of weeks.

For the past several days, her friends would leave at dawn and return at dusk exhausted. While Marguerite was working hard on the translations, she figured it would be better for her to do some of the chores to help out. Roxton had managed to find time to gather wood and begin chopping it, but hadn't quite finished it yet, so Marguerite finished it for him. The laundry took her a while to do on her own, but she managed to hang the last piece of clothing on the line as her friends wandered in through the electric fence.

"Hello, everyone." Marguerite was going to ask if they had any luck with the search but the question died on her lips when she saw their expressions. It was obvious that today was another day where no progress was made.

They all returned her greeting and made their way over to her. "You did the laundry?" Veronica asked. "You should have waited, I would have helped you."

"Don't be silly, Veronica. You have enough on your mind and you're exhausted. Besides, it was no trouble." Marguerite started to bend over to retrieve the laundry basket when Roxton beat her to it. She didn't bother telling him she was more than capable of carrying an empty basket because she knew he wouldn't give it back to her. It was just one of those little things he liked to do for people he cared about, so she let him. "Thank you, John, and while you're at it, you can bring in that load of firewood too."

Roxton frowned. "You chopped the wood?"

"Yes, Roxton is there a problem with that?" She gave him a look that clearly told him there had better not be one.

"No, Marguerite, it's just that I would have done it myself." Roxton threw the freshly cut pieces of wood in the basket.

"Well when Challenger and I got back, I saw the pile sitting there and I knew we needed it and that's all there is to it."

"Got back? Where'd you guys go?" Finn asked.

"Oh, we went up in the balloon, we discovered something today and had to go up to take a look around. Let's go up and Challenger and I will tell you what happened." Marguerite stepped into the elevator with the others following behind her.

"Wow, sounds like you've had a busy day." Malone commented.

Marguerite scoffed. "You're telling me."

When the elevator reached the top, Marguerite, Malone and Finn stepped out and sent it back down for Roxton and Veronica. "Finn, do you mind going down and fetching Challenger? I'm going to fix some dinner."

"And I'll help you." Malone said quickly.

Marguerite rolled her eyes but didn't object. "I'm not cooking, just throwing something together. You don't have to worry about food poisoning."

Malone had the good sense to look embarrassed while Finn laughed and headed for the stairs that led down to Challenger's lab. Marguerite and Malone headed for the kitchen when they heard the elevator come up bringing Roxton and Veronica. They both stepped out and down their packs and weapons while Roxton put down the basket of firewood in its appropriate place.

After their evening meal was finished, it was back to business. "I hear you have some things to share with us, Challenger." Roxton stated as he sat back in his chair with a glass of whiskey.

"Indeed I do. As you all know, Marguerite and I took a balloon ride earlier this morning. I was working in my lab when Marguerite came down distraught and forced me upstairs to look at something. After she pointed me in the right direction, I saw what she saw only moments earlier." Challenger paused briefly, but whether it was to gather his thoughts for what he was going to say next, or simply to let what he said sink in before continuing, he waited too long.

"And?" Finn asked, "What'd you see?"

"It is in fact, what we didn't see. The Krux Mountains weren't in their usual location. And as Marguerite pointed out other anomalies to me, I decided it was time for an investigation, hence our balloon ride. From a bird's eye view of the plateau, we noticed changes all over the plateau."

"What? What kind of changes are we talking about here? And don't you think we would have noticed if an entire range of mountains were displaced?" Veronica was tempted to go out onto the balcony to have a look for herself but knew she wouldn't see anything in the dark.

Marguerite took that as her entrance into the conversation. "I know it sounds ridiculous but trust me, I didn't believe my own eyes when I noticed myself. That's why I had to show Challenger. But it's true. Even when we went into the balloon we saw changes like this everywhere. The Summerlee Falls are so far east of us that it would take weeks or even longer to travel there by foot." Marguerite sighed before continuing, "I don't know why all this is happening but I have a feeling from the way George is barely containing his excitement that he has an idea."

Challenger nodded and jumped in immediately. "After Marguerite and myself returned, I went immediately to the lab to compare the rough sketches I made with a current map of the plateau. As you all know, the plateau is constantly shifting. The maps we've made while we've been here have shown a shift, and compared to Veronica's own maps, there was even more obvious shift.

"But after I compared my sketch to the most current maps we had, the shift was more drastic than I previously thought. It was as if after the storm, the plateau collapsed upon itself and spit everything out." Challenger's explanation was followed by hand gestures acting out the scenario.

A few moments of silence elapsed before the first 'wow' escaped Finn's lips.

"So is this why the Zanga Village is missing?" Veronica asked.

Challenger nodded, "Yes indeed, I believe it is."

Veronica shook her head. "But I don't understand Challenger. How could none of us have noticed this? If the change you're describing is so drastic don't you think we would have picked up on it by now? I've lived here my entire life and I didn't sense that everything has moved around like you've suggested."

"Well, in other circumstances I would tend to agree with you, my dear, but this past week proves otherwise. I would say the sheer physics of it all is impossible but if you take into account…"

"I think what Challenger is trying to say," Marguerite interrupted, "is that we all know, the path to the Zanga Village is an easy one. A simple walk through the jungle, and one that doesn't use any specific landmarks. It's easy to see why when you and Malone went to check up on the Zanga, you didn't notice the change. Even while everything had changed, the jungle is still the jungle."

"Well I guess it's possible," Malone began, "we've all traveled the path hundreds of times, we don't even think about it. It could happen."

"Well, that still doesn't change the fact that we don't know where Assai and the rest of the Zanga are. They could be anywhere on the plateau! What if something happened to them? How can I help them if I don't know where they are?" Veronica dropped her head and took a steadying breath.

Finn reached over and gave her a comforting hug. "Don't worry, Vee, we'll find them. Maybe Challenger can figure out where they are."

Challenger cleared his throat. "Well I believe I might be able to find out, actually."

Roxton had sat back quietly listening. He drained his cup and decided to join the conversation. "How would you propose to do that, Challenger? You yourself said everything's changed. How are we supposed to search the entire plateau?"

"Well, on a hunch, I looked for some of Veronica's oldest maps and compared them to the sketches I took. Then I found some of Veronica's parents' maps and compared those too. I found that the further back in time I went, the more similar our current plateau was to the plateau of several years ago. There were still major differences, but this got me to thinking. When Maple White was here, he said that the treehouse was the center of the plateau. While his theory was obviously not true at the time, I began to think about the shifting nature of the plateau and thought that maybe at one point it indeed was. And if the plateau seemed to be more similar to the oldest maps, I went along with the theory.

"I remembered the map he showed me while he was here so using his theory, I made a rough sketch myself with the treehouse as the center of the plateau and found that it worked. With some mathematical calculations and the several maps I have, I believe I can deduce where everything is, and make a reliable map."

"Well, that's great news then, if anyone could do it, it would be you old boy!" Roxton clapped Challenger on the back while he poured himself another drink.

"Yeah, that's great! You can see Assai and everyone else real soon, Vee!" Finn's grin made Veronica smile and she found herself filled with hope once again.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and get started. Good evening, everyone." Challenger headed off into his lab while everyone else got ready for bed.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Hi, Challenger. How are you coming along with the new map of the plateau?" Veronica looked hopefully at the papers spread before Challenger.

He looked up from his notes and smiled. "Quite nicely. In fact, I should be done soon."

"Anything I can do to help?"

Challenger shook his head, "No, not at the moment. But I may be able to use your artistic abilities later on. My sketches are a bit crude, but until then I'm afraid not."

"All right, Challenger. I'll come back later." Veronica started to walk away when something on the table caught her eye. "So is this Arthur? Whatever it is, it certainly is beautiful."

Challenger turned to look at the beetle in it's now closed form and grinned. "It certainly is, but wait till you see it when it's open." He leaned closer and pushed the button on its back and it opened up to reveal the map once again. "Isn't it wonderful!"

Veronica's mouth dropped as she watched it transform. She leaned in close to get a good look and then frowned. "That's weird."

"Weird? It's magnificent!" Challenger cried.

"What?" Veronica raised a hand to her chest and looked at Challenger. "No, that's not what I meant, Challenger. It's beautiful of course. It's just my mother's pendant is doing something. I don't know how to describe it, it's like it's humming."

"Humming? I don't hear anything."

Veronica shook her head. "Well, I told you it was hard to explain. I can't hear it, but I can feel it throughout my body. And I know it's coming from the trion." Veronica reached behind her neck and took off the necklace and handed it to Challenger. "Can you feel anything?"

Challenger held out his hand and took the trion from Veronica. He closed his palm around it and waited a few moments before he shook his head. "No, I don't feel anything. Do you still feel it?"

"No, it stopped once I wasn't touching it." Veronica held out her hand and Challenger handed it back to her. As soon as her skin came into contact with it, she felt the same sensation running through her body. "I can feel it again. It must work only for me for some reason. I wonder what it means."

Challenger was silent for a few moments before he regarded Veronica again. "When did this sensation start exactly?"

"It just started a moment ago. Right after you opened up Arthur…" As her words drifted off, both their eyes darted to the map and saw something on the map that wasn't there before. There was a faint glow coming from a specific area of the map, and it was in the shape of a specific symbol. The symbol of Veronica's pendant.

A/N: Drop me a line if you can!


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"What makes you think that Veronica?"

"Who else could it be from, Marguerite? It's a map, it has the symbol from my mother's pendant on it, and it only appeared after I got near it. It was meant for me! My mother sent it, I'm sure of it. And I think that map is going to lead me to her. To Avalon." Veronica kept walking to various places in the treehouse and grabbing things and shoving them frantically in her bag.

"But Vee, you don't know that for sure. You could be walking into a trap for all you know." Finn had listened to Veronica's explanation with an open mind, but she couldn't help but feel skeptical. She still wasn't too sure about all this protector stuff and she didn't want Veronica to get hurt.

"Well, I'll never know if I just sit here. I have to go find out for myself, and I'm going with or without all of you!" Veronica walked by her friends and started placing some fruit into her bag.

Malone glanced worriedly at his friends. "Veronica, you know we all want you to find your mother and we'd do anything to help you."

Veronica paused her packing and looked at Malone and smiled. "Thank you, Ned. I'm sorry, but if there's any chance of finding my mother, I'm going to take it."

"What about the Zanga? Aren't you going to try to find them?" Roxton asked.

"Challenger already finished his calculations and he thinks he knows where they are. And it just happens to be on the way. I can stop and check in on Assai and everyone and then I can go find my mother." Veronica grabbed some water, along with her bag, and slung them over her shoulder. "Now, are you coming with me, or am I going by myself?"

They all shared a quick look and nodded. Challenger cleared his throat briefly. "Well, let's all get ready. We have quite the journey ahead of us."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

It took them nearly two days to reach the Zanga Village by foot even with Veronica's hurried pace. Using Challenger's calculations as a guide, they made their way slowly through the jungle looking for any signs of life from their once-be neighbors.

The sun had nearly gone down and Roxton was getting ready to call it a day and find a place to set camp when he heard a branch snap up ahead. He threw up his hand in warning and everyone moved to find some cover.

Roxton pulled up his rifle and started scanning the area for anything that moved. There! Far to the right, he saw shadows in the distance. He motioned for the others to stay back while he moved closer. He crept slowly forward the whole time his rifle kept ready for anything.

"Roxton!"

Before he had a moment to react, Roxton found himself engulfed by two powerfully long arms. He managed to break free and recognized the face immediately. "Jarl! You have no idea how good it is to see you!"

"Likewise, my friend, it has been too long!" Jarl reached over and shook Roxton's hand. "Is everyone else with you?"

Roxton nodded. "Yes, in fact-"

"Jarl!"

Roxton turned and saw Veronica rush over and hug Jarl with the rest of the explorers following. "I thought I told you to wait back there for me."

Marguerite mockingly bowed. "We are so sorry your lordship. Please forgive us."

Roxton rolled his eyes and turned back to listen to Veronica talking to Jarl.

"How's Assai and the rest of the Zanga? I was worried when I couldn't find you."

Jarl nodded his head. "Everyone is fine. Assai too has been beside herself with worry. After the storm, she went to the treehouse to see you and returned upset. It took a lot of effort to calm her down enough for her to tell me that the treehouse was missing. I took several warriors with me and looked everywhere but I could not find anything. Assai will be pleased to see you and all our friends are well." Jarl turned and led the way. "Come, the jungle is no place to be in at night."

Veronica picked up her pace and fell into step with him immediately, which caused Malone to speed up as well. Finn walked with Challenger and listened to his excited babbling about how finding Jarl proved his theories correct leaving Marguerite with Roxton.

"So do you think she'll find Avalon and her mother?"

Marguerite barely managed to step over a broken branch in her path when she felt Roxton's arm at her elbow to balance her. "Thank you." He nodded his head slightly. "And as for your question, yes I do."

Roxton raised his eyebrows. "Really? You? You've been the most adamant over the years that Veronica would probably never find her parents."

"Well things have changed over the years, John. She found her father and she knows where her mother is. Well, in a sense. And Challenger found the Zanga, so if we follow the map and his calculations, all we can do is hope that she finds her mother too."

Roxton smiled at her answer but didn't comment on it. He hoped they got to the village soon. If it got any darker they were going to have to stop and light torches. Sure enough, as soon as he was getting ready to ask Jarl if they were there yet, he saw the familiar village ahead and smiled. It took them longer than they thought it would, but they finally found the Zanga.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Veronica breathed a sigh of relief as she walked through the familiar gate to the Zanga Village. She smiled as several of the children ran up to her and asked her to play with them. She promised to come back later when she saw Assai wave and run towards her.

"Veronica!"

"Assai!" Veronica waved back excitedly and picked up her own pace to meet Assai. When they met, they hugged each other tightly. "I'm so glad you're all right, Assai. I was so worried about you."

Assai pulled back slightly but their arms were still loosely on each other's shoulders. "I was worried about you as well. We looked for days for you but could find no trace. I thought something happened to you and I couldn't find you to help you!"

Veronica felt tears well up in her eyes as she remembered her own feelings when she couldn't find Assai or the rest of the Zanga. She gave Assai another small hug and smiled reassuringly. "I felt the same way when I couldn't find you. We looked for days trying to find you and we probably would have never found you if it wasn't for Challenger."

Assai looked over Veronica's shoulder and noticed that everyone else was there as well. She saw a familiar face and her face immediately brightened. "Malone! You have returned!"

Malone smiled and nodded. "It's good to see you, Assai."

Jarl came to stand beside his wife. "I found them in the jungle, not far from the outer gate of the village and led them back here."

"Well, you all must be hungry from your journey. Come, I will prepare a meal for you and you can tell us how you found us." Assai linked her arm with Veronica and they both led the way to their home.

The others followed behind at a slower pace, nodding greetings at the familiar faces of the village.

Roxton looked to his right when he thought he heard Marguerite talking. "Did you say something?"

Marguerite looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I just said I hope Challenger keeps to the shortened version tonight."

Roxton chuckled. "Hopefully, he'll be too busy eating to get into specifics." Arriving at Assai and Jarl's home, they saw the others had gotten there before them. Roxton held open the door and let Marguerite precede him.

"Thank you, John. And one can only hope." She winked at him and stepped inside to take a seat on the floor next to Malone. "Did we miss anything?"

Malone shook his head. "No, not really. Challenger just started explaining everything that happened to us since the storm."

"Damn." She felt Roxton laugh from his seat behind her. She turned towards him and lowered her voice. "I knew we should have gone around the village one more time."

Roxton smiled at her but didn't say anything else. Marguerite scowled at his smile. She knew which one he just gave her. The 'there, there, it won't be that bad' smile. She turned her attention back to the conversation but was only half listening. She hoped dinner would be fast and they would be allowed to sleep after. She was very tired and was ready to sleep right there without any dinner.

She must have let her mind wander farther than she intended to because when she felt Malone nudge her, dinner was being served. Still out of it, she didn't even yell at Malone for nudging her in the ribs. "What?"

"Assai was asking you if you wanted something to drink?"

"Oh." Marguerite looked over at Assai who was looking at her worryingly and saw everyone else was staring at her as well. "No thank you, Assai."

She began eating and as soon as everyone else did, the conversation resumed. This time she kept an open ear on it so as not to get another jab in the ribs. She also mentally reminded herself to get Malone back for that. How hard was it to call her name or touch her arm? He didn't have to nudge her.

"Did you or any of the Zanga experience any of the effects that we did during the storm?" she heard Challenger ask.

Assai nodded. "Yes, several people went missing that day. We sent some of our trackers to go looking for them, but they did not return before the storm started. We took shelter and when it was all over, all of the missing people returned on their own."

"Fascinating! They must have been caught in the same shimmering windows as we all were."

"Well, we're just glad everyone is home safe and sound." Roxton added.

Veronica started explaining about the course of events leading to their journey and possibly leading to finding her mother.

"And you think you will find your mother, Veronica?" Assai asked.

Veronica shrugged. "I don't know, Assai. But this is the only clue I have to find her, and I have to follow it and hope that I will."

"Well, I hope you do. After all these years of waiting, you deserve to find true happiness."

Veronica smiled. "Thank you."

"When are you planning to leave?"

"Early tomorrow morning."

Marguerite inwardly groaned at the word early, but wasn't surprised Veronica wanted to leave as quickly as possible. She'd probably push them just as hard as she did when they were looking for the Zanga.

Assai frowned. "So soon? But you only just arrived."

"I'm sorry we can't stay longer, Assai. But I wanted to stop by and make sure everyone was all right. Now that I see you all are, I want to get going. I'll try to stop by again after everything is over. Maybe you'll even get to meet my mother."

Assai nodded and smiled. "I look forward to it. Well you must all be tired. Jarl and I will let you rest for your journey tomorrow."

Everyone thanked Assai and Jarl for the food and hospitality before finally getting the rest they needed before they started their day tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Goodbyes were said and promises were made for a return visit, and the group of friends had set out.

They had covered a lot of ground, and there were times where they found themselves slightly turned around and had to backtrack to find their place. Luckily, they hadn't met any trouble on their journey and they all prayed their luck would last long enough for Veronica to find Avalon.

It had been three days since they left the Zanga and five days since they left the treehouse. Everyone was tired and sore and they were running low on supplies but no one mentioned it aloud. They would wait until the last possible moment and then they would suggest making a brief stop to gather what food they could find in the neighboring area before starting out again. No one dreamed of making Veronica turn back now.

Veronica knew she was getting closer, she could feel it in her very bones. As each day had passed, she felt more confident she knew which way to go almost as if she was being guided.

"Veronica, I think we should set up camp before it gets dark. We passed a good place a couple minutes."

Veronica wanted to go on, but she knew Roxton was right. There was no point in trying to travel in the dark and risking their lives. "All right, lead the way."

After a couple of minutes, they reached a small clearing that was bordered by a line of trees. Everyone threw down their bags and started through the normal routine of setting camp. Challenger and Malone started setting up the tents, Roxton and Finn went to gather wood, and Marguerite and Veronica gathered up the canteens to get water.

Luckily there had been a river running parallel with them for the past several days and they hadn't needed to stray very far to find a fresh source of water. They still had food for a couple of days, but whenever they saw some fruit, they would stop and add to their supply.

Veronica and Marguerite had reached the edge of the river in a few minutes time. While Veronica bent over to fill up the canteens, Marguerite kept watch. They had a brief scare their first night when they stumbled upon several different species of animals drinking from the river and decided to be prepared for anything that might sneak up on them.

Veronica finished filling up the canteens and handed some of them to Marguerite who slung them over her shoulder. "We're almost there, Marguerite, I just know it."

Marguerite cast a sideways glance at Veronica as they walked. She truly hoped they did find Avalon for Veronica's sake. "Well, hopefully we'll be there soon." Marguerite smiled at Veronica and then felt a shiver run through her body.

Veronica saw it and stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

Marguerite shook her head. "It's nothing. I just had a funny feeling is all."

"What kind of feeling?"

Marguerite looked through the trees, her eyes scanning and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It felt like we were being watched, but I guess I was wrong."

Veronica frowned at Marguerite's words and looked around as well. She hadn't gotten the sense they were being followed, but decided there was nothing wrong with being cautious. After her own scan turned up nothing, they both started heading back to camp.

They heard several branches snap and a loud thud behind them and barely managed to turn and dive out of the way of the charging raptor. "So much for our quiet walk through the jungle!" Marguerite quickly got to her feet and quickly removed her pistol from its holster and tried to get a shot. The raptor was moving closer to Veronica who was still lying on the ground.

"Veronica! Get up!" Marguerite couldn't get a clear shot without risk of hitting Veronica. She fired a couple of shots in the air hoping to distract the raptor from Veronica. The raptor briefly looked in her direction before turning back towards Veronica.

"Damn it!" She looked frantically for something on the ground to throw at it when she heard the raptor cry out and collapse on the ground. She saw a large sword sticking out its side and briefly wondered where it came from. She started to run towards Veronica when she saw several men half dressed leaning over her. "Hey you get away from her!" Marguerite aimed her pistol at the man closest to Veronica and prepared to shoot when two men appeared from no where and grabbed her from behind. "Let me go you brutes!"

Marguerite tried wrestling out of their tight grip, but she could see these men were nearly twice her size and she wouldn't be able to break free. She saw one of the other men lean over and pick Veronica up into his arms. "Hey, I told you to get away from her! Put her down this instant!"

The man with Veronica turned and started to walk away and the others started to follow him. The two men who had a firm grip on both of her arms steered her to follow. "Who are you people? What do you want from us?" Again she was met with silence. "Look pal, our friends are camped not far from here. They probably heard the gunshots and it's only going to take them a moment to find us. I suggest you let us go before someone gets hurt."

Marguerite saw the stony faces of the men and saw she wasn't getting through to them. "You know you could give the guards at Buckingham Palace a run for their money. I could put in a good word for you…" Marguerite stomped down hard on the foot of the man on her right while she elbowed the one on the left and managed to take one step forward before they reached forward and resumed their grip on her arms. It wasn't hurtful, but it was firm enough.

"You will come along quietly and cause no trouble."

Marguerite raised an eyebrow. "So you do speak. Thought the cat had your tongue for a moment there." Marguerite looked ahead and saw Veronica was still unconscious in the arms of the man leading the way. "Look, my friend needs medical help. Let us go!"

"We do not take orders from you." The one on the left spoke this time.

"Who do you work for? I'm going to have to have a talk with someone about this treatment!" Marguerite wiggled her arms for emphasis.

"We serve and pledge our life to the Protector."

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Feedback is most welcome:) _


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Finn had deposited the last bit of wood to the pile as Roxton lit a match to start the fire when they heard several gunshots.

"Did you hear that?" Finn reached got up from her crouched position. "It sounded like it came from the river."

"Marguerite and Veronica must be in trouble!" He grabbed his rifle when he saw Malone and Challenger make a grab for their own guns.

He took off in the direction of the shots knowing that his friends would be following. After running for a couple minutes they still hadn't heard anymore shots but kept heading for the river knowing that was where they would have been last. Roxton was getting worried they hadn't heard anymore gunshots.

They stopped running when they found a dead raptor and knew this is where the shots had to have come from. The raptor was freshly killed, but not by one of Veronica's knives or Marguerite's pistol. There was a very large bladed sword sticking out of the raptor's side. To make matters worse, Roxton counted at least 5 sets of prints and he could see that at least Marguerite had left with them.

"They must have been taken with them. The tracks lead this way. They can't be more than a few minutes ahead of us." Roxton led the way following the many sets of footprints hoping Marguerite and Veronica were both all right.

XOXOXOXOXO

"The Protector? Well then you should be treating us like royalty! Veronica's mother is the damn Protector!" Marguerite tried again to get to Veronica but the men seemed to expect her to struggle now and didn't let her budge.

"Watch your language." The warrior on her left said.

Marguerite rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother."

"We do not wish to harm you or the Protector's child. We are-"

"Marguerite!"

Marguerite turned as much as she could in the tight grip and saw the cavalry had finally arrived. "Roxton!" She turned to face the warrior on her left. "You can still let us go and no one will get hurt."

Roxton, Malone, and Challenger stepped closer with their rifles trained on the men while Finn had her crossbow out. "Release our friends! We don't want any trouble!" Malone shouted.

"We cannot."

Roxton and the others saw that while Marguerite was not hurt, Veronica was unconscious in the arms of one of the men who was still walking away from them. They didn't know how seriously she was hurt, but they couldn't risk her getting hurt more in a fight.

Challenger stepped forward but lowered his rifle and hoped he could negotiate. "We do not wish to start a confrontation. We only want our two friends and we will be on our way. There is no need for any violence."

Veronica woke up and the first thing she realized was she felt awful. The side of her head was pounding and it didn't help that every step she took hurt her head more. Wait…couldn't be walking, she just woke up. She opened her eyes and saw she was in the arms of a man whom she didn't recognize. "Hey! Put me down!"

She was prepared to fight him if she had to, injured as she was, but was surprised to see he stopped walking and placed her on the ground. When she swayed on her feet, he reached out with his arm and steadied her. She almost thanked him when she realized she didn't even know who he was or why she was with him. The last she remembered she and Marguerite were being attacked by a raptor and she had to drop to the ground. She must have hit her head on something hard and lost consciousness. That would explain why her head was hurting so much.

Remembering the raptor and Marguerite she looked around and saw that she was being held by two men and the others had guns trained at them. She saw Challenger talking to the men, no doubt trying to reason with them. Her head was still pounding but she started to make her way towards them. She looked more closely at the man who was still helping her walk on her right. She had seen a man dressed similarly once before as a child, and had a hunch that these men were Avatar warriors. Remembering what her father told her about them having to listen to her, she decided to test the theory.

When she came close enough, she heard Malone and the others shout to her. She waved to them. "I'm fine, don't worry." She turned to the two men holding Marguerite. "Let her go." The two men lifted an arm to each of their chests and bowed their heads in respect.

Marguerite stepped away from them to Veronica rubbing her wrists. "Are you all right?" She saw there was a small trail of blood on the side of Veronica's face and when she felt there she found a nice bump. "I bet that hurts."

Veronica took her arm and let her walk her over to her friends. "I'm okay, just a little dizzy."

Having seen her wince at Marguerite's touch, Malone had already dug out the first aid kit from his pack and handed it to Marguerite. "Are you ok, Veronica?"

Veronica nodded her head and regretted it. She closed her eyes and let Marguerite bandage it for her.

"Who are these guys, Vee? And why did they kidnap you and Marguerite?" Finn still kept an eye on the several warriors, but so far they hadn't moved from their positions.

"They're Avatar warriors and they didn't kidnap us."

Marguerite scoffed and muttered under breath. "You could have fooled me."

"They serve the Protector and when they saw us get attacked by the raptor they probably came to help us. I had a feeling we were close to Avalon and that's probably where they were taking us."

Marguerite paused in her administrations to Veronica's head and glared at one of the men who were holding her. "Why the hell didn't you just say that!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "You did not ask."

Marguerite continued to mutter under her breath as she finished bandaging Veronica's head. When she finished, she helped her to stand and Roxton and Malone stood at each side to help her walk. They both knew that if she could walk, she would, but they would be close at hand in case she needed help.

Veronica looked at the nearest Avatar warrior. "Take me to my mother, please." The man bowed his head, as did the others, before turning and walking in the direction they were heading before they had to stop.

Roxton called ahead to one of the warriors. "How long do you expect it will take for us to get there? It's almost dark."

"We will be there momentarily."

"They're certainly a talkative bunch." Roxton said aloud.

Marguerite snorted from her position on his left. "Oh yes, I had a lovely little chat with them earlier. Marvelous conversationalists."

"Holy crap!"

The others turned to look at Finn and her odd choice of language and saw she had stopped walking and had her mouth open wide.

"Oh my god…" Malone trailed off and found that he was speechless and when he didn't hear anything he realized his friends were as well.

"Is that all gold?" Marguerite managed to recover and string a few words together into a coherent sentence.

They had followed Finn's gaze and it rested upon a wall, at least twenty feet tall with manned guards in several areas. The gates were open as if they were waiting for their arrival. It seemed everything that reached their eyes was made of gold. The buildings they saw inside the city seemed to be made of gold as well.

On cue, all eyes turned to Marguerite. "Are you drooling, Marguerite?" Roxton chuckled at her expression. Marguerite had reached heaven and he knew he'd have a tough time trying to get her to leave later.

Marguerite shook herself out of her daze. "What? No, I was just…admiring the architecture."

Her friends all laughed and she scowled. "Well, I was."

"Right, Marguerite." Veronica rolled eyes and turned to the Avatar warrior who was waiting for them.

"Follow us please. We will lead you to the Protector."

The Avatar warrior led them through the city at a slow enough pace for Veronica to be comfortable and for everyone to look around. It wasn't everyday you saw a city of gold.

"You know, this could be El Dorado." Marguerite commented while looking around.

Malone shook his head. "I thought Qinaq said Prince Apep destroyed it the last time he got out. How could this be El Dorado?"

"She said they moved the city after it was destroyed. Who's to say this isn't it?" Marguerite continued to look in the city in awe and wonder how more people on the plateau didn't know a place like this existed.

Finn looked confused. "I thought you said this place was called Avalon."

Challenger nodded. "It is possible that this place has many names. If it indeed was in that previous location on the plateau it then stands to reason several people must have seen it. We all know the plateau is a place of countless peoples. There must be several legends and myths about Avalon. El Dorado is most likely just one of many myths that we've come to hear."

Veronica thought back to the incident with Apep. It was not one of her proudest moments. She was easily misled by him and his shape shifting minion. But with the help of her friends, she was able to trap him again and stop him from bringing destruction to the plateau. "Qinaq did tell me it was possible that my parents were in El Dorado. And if that is another name for Avalon then it could have been a past Protector who trapped Apep. That might explain how I was able to let him out."

"Excuse me, my lady, we have arrived."

They all looked up and saw they had reached a structure much larger than those in the city and assumed it was the palace. The warrior bowed and turned to leave going back the way they came.

They climbed the steps which led to a very large door, similar to the large doors that were guarded at the gate. When they got closer, the two warriors on duty opened them and bowed their heads in respect to Veronica as well. Veronica was starting to feel uncomfortable and hoped that everyone she met wasn't going to keep bowing to her.

They walked through a well lit long hall which led into a large room that was decorated with rich tapestries and paintings. There was a large fire roaring in the fireplace which was in the center of the room. Surrounding the fireplace, there were several very comfortable looking chairs that were arranged around the room.

One of the chairs had been turned towards the fireplace and there was a side table with a tea set placed next to it. As they moved closer, they saw a hand place a cup of tea onto the little table.

"I've been expecting you for quite some time now."

The group stopped their approach when they heard the voice. The male voice. The man rose from his seat and turned to face the group.

"Summerlee!"

_A/N: Thank you for those of you reviewing! I know there are lots more reading from the hits I've been getting and I appreciate those of you who take the time out to let me know what you're thinking!_

_ And so now we're finally in Avalon and a familiar face has returned! Things are just starting to get interesting!_

**Liz**: First off thanks for your reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Secondly, I was going to send you an email with the address for the summary, but you didn't leave one :(. So I'm going to put it here for you. (dots are the periods in the address, this website doesn't like links for some reasons so I have to write it out). www(dot)reeves-stevens(dot)com/season4(dot)html. Hope that helps anyone else who was looking for the summary as well!


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I put this in the last chapter, but it's worth mentioning again._

_Liz had mentioned in her review that she couldn't find the summary but since she didn't leave an email address I couldn't send the link to you directly. So I'm putting this link here for Liz who might not have seen it last chapter and for anyone else who does need it. (dots are the periods in the address, this website doesn't like links for some reasons so I have to write it out). www(dot)reeves-stevens(dot)com/season4(dot)html. _

CHAPTER 13

"Summerlee!"

"You're alive!"

Summerlee chuckled. "Yes, indeed I am. It's so lovely to see you all again." Hugs and many handshakes were exchanged while Finn was properly introduced to Summerlee.

"Now Summerlee," Challenger began, "what the devil are you doing here?"

"How did you get here?"

"Why didn't you let us know where you were?"

Summerlee held up his hands to try to stop them from all talking at once. "I'm sure you all have questions, so why don't we all get comfortable and I'll begin."

They each took a seat while Arthur went to pick up his cup of tea. "Can I get any of you a cup of tea?" When they all politely declined, he walked over and claimed the seat next to Marguerite.

Summerlee took a small sip of his tea and placed the cup in its saucer. "I'm sure you all remember the last time you saw me. I had an arrow protruding from my midsection and took an unfortunate tumble over that cliff." He paused to take another sip of tea and after seeing their nods, he continued.

"I briefly remembered landing in the river before I lost consciousness. I assume I went over the waterfall, but when I woke up, I was here in this wondrous city. Several of the people had found me and they nursed me back to health."

"But how did you survive the fall Summerlee?" Malone asked. "When I fell over the edge of the waterfall last year, I never even saw the bottom. Although I did see you in what looked like a greenhouse. How is that possible?"

Summerlee sighed. "While these kind people did save my life, there is a catch. The effects only last as long as I'm in the city. If I were to leave the confines of the city, I would not be able to survive. But I wanted to find a way to let you all know that I was alive so you would not continue to worry about me. Obviously it did not work exactly as I intended it to. I certainly never meant for Malone to follow me over the waterfall."

Veronica looked confused. "But why wouldn't you be able to leave? Isn't my mother here? I'm sure she'd let you leave if you wanted."

Summerlee nodded his head. "Yes, Abigail would let me leave if she could but it is not possible. I was very near death when I was first brought here and I doubt that even if I were in London that modern medicine could have saved me. All I can say was that it was a miracle just short of magic."

Challenger scoffed. "Magic? That's preposterous, there's no such thing."

"Challenger, this is not a scientific debate. I'm simply telling you what I know."

Marguerite saw that even though it had been years since the two friends had actually talked, they were getting ready to debate science like they used late into the nights back at the treehouse. She quickly interrupted. "What did you mean earlier when you said you were expecting us earlier?" Marguerite asked.

"I was wondering when that would come up." Summerlee smiled and looked over at Challenger. "I assume you brought my namesake with you?"

Challenger looked baffled that Summerlee knew about 'Arthur' but nodded. He reached for his bag and pulled it from inside and handed it over to Summerlee. His hand immediately went to the button on the back of the beetle and it opened into the map of the plateau.

Challenger's jaw dropped. "How did you know to do that, Arthur? I found that depression by accident."

They had never seen Summerlee grin before, but it seemed to be what he was doing now. It made him look several years younger. "Haven't you figured it out, George? You didn't think it was odd that you happened to come across a map that would lead you to Avalon in the form of a beetle that spun a cocoon?"

"What are you saying, Arthur?"

"I made 'Arthur' as you call it and sent it to you knowing you would need a way to find Avalon. Of course, it took you a little longer than I expected for you to get here, but no matter."

Challenger rose to his feet. "Well we would have been here sooner if your confounded contraption's map was correct. I spent two days recalculating everything after the storm!"

"Oh?" Summerlee raised an eyebrow, "And I suppose that's my fault?"

"Well it certainly wasn't mine!"

"Really?" Summerlee placed down his cup of tea. "Interesting."

"Well, I see you've wasted no time at all becoming reacquainted with your friends Arthur."

Summerlee's eyes sparkled with good humor as he stood from his seat as all of the heads in the room turned to the sound of the voice.

"Mother!"

Veronica jumped out of her chair and ran to Abigail. They hugged each other tightly as Veronica wept into her mother's shoulder. "Oh how I've missed you dear heart." Abigail wiped away her own tears as she pulled Veronica off her shoulder. "Come, let me have a look at you."

Veronica smiled through her teary eyes. Abigail used her thumbs to wipe away Veronica's tears. "You've grown into such a beautiful young woman, Veronica. I'm so proud of you."

"I just can't believe it…after so many years, I finally found you!" Veronica laughed tearfully and hugged her mother again. "I have so many questions…"

Abigail nodded her head. "I know you do, dear, and I promise I'll answer all of them. But right now you and your friends need to eat something and get some rest. You will be with me in my bedroom so we can talk as much as you want." Abigail turned to everyone else who were watching the anticipated reunion with smiles on their faces. "Please follow me, we had a meal prepared when we heard you were nearby."

Everyone rose from their chairs and started to follow Abigail down the hallway she appeared from. "So," Finn started, "if you've been here this whole time, how come you've never contacted Vee?"

"Finn! Don't be rude." Marguerite chided.

"What? It's a simple question."

"Sometimes, Finn," Abigail said, "things are not as simple as they seem." Before anyone could ask her what she meant by her cryptic statement, she turned and again led the way down the hallway.

They were led into a large room that had a long dining table topped with enough food to feed an army. Abigail walked around to the head of the table and stood behind her chair. "Please, sit and eat, I know your journey must have been long and tiring. And while you eat, I'll tell you a story."

_A/N: Feedback is appreciated!_


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

As everyone slowly ate, Abigail started to explain.

"Since the beginning of time, there have always been two forces battling each other; good and evil. Much as with everything in life, one cannot exist without the other. These equal, yet opposite forces are constantly battling with each other.

"As you all have no doubt learned through your time here these past few years, the plateau is unlike any other place on earth. This is because the plateau is the source of everything."

"So Mordren was right." Veronica said.

Abigail nodded. "Yes. The plateau goes through a cycle every several hundred of years, the power involved is enormous. There is an overwhelming creation or destruction of life. As a Protector, we are here to ensure that life is once again created. If Mordren's line had its way, the world would be plunged into chaos."

"I'm assuming our timely arrival here has something to do with that lovely storm from a few weeks ago?" Marguerite asked. Abigail turned and looked at Marguerite and nodded. Abigail locked eyes with her for a moment, but before Marguerite could wonder what it was about, she had already turned away and resumed talking.

"As I was saying, these cycles occur every several hundred years. The storm you all experienced a few weeks ago was the end of the previous cycle, which means a new cycle will begin shortly. As Arthur was teasing Challenger earlier, we were not expecting this to occur now. There should have benn at least another generation or two before we had to face what lies ahead."

"What brought it about so early?" Challenger asked.

There was a moment of silence before Abigail answered. "You."

"Me?"

"All of you." She looked around the room at all of the people seated at her table. "In the limited time you have been here, you have caused many changes to the plateau in a short period of time. There have been several instances of time travel, among other things, and even though bringing Finn here is ultimately a good thing, it has still upset the balance. There is a fine line of order and chaos that keeps the plateau in check. I am not saying that any one of your actions was negative because in the end, it is better that the new cycle will happen now when all of the players have finally been assembled in one place."

"What do you mean all the players?" Malone asked.

Abigail smiled at him as she pushed back her chair and rose from her seat. "We can continue this discussion later. Right now, it is late and you should rest. There have been several rooms prepared for you."

Summerlee also rose from his seat. "I can show them to their quarters, Abigail."

"Thank you, Arthur." Abigail extended her right hand to Veronica who grasped it. "If you have a need for anything during the night please feel free to ask. There are usually many sentries on duty throughout the palace and they should be able to help you. I will see you all in the morning, good night."

Arthur led the others back down the way they entered the dining room with leaving Veronica and Abigail behind.

"Come dear heart, there is much I have to tell you and our time is limited."

Abigail led them to her chambers and dismissed the guards and closed the doors behind them. She sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot beside her. Veronica moved and sat next to her. "I know you have many questions Veronica, but for right now I need for you to listen to me carefully."

At Veronica's nod, she continued. "By now you have truly remembered what happened all those years ago and you are probably wondering why I left you at the treehouse instead of keeping you here with me.

"When Mordren killed your father, I managed to get us both back to Avalon and back to safety. It was not long before he gathered a large army and came after us at Avalon. The Avatar warriors managed to drive him off the plateau but we could not be sure he would not try anything again."

Abigail shook her head and sighed. "As a young child, I always resented my mother for keeping me locked behind these walls. I wanted to go out and explore; be a normal young girl. When I left Avalon and met your father and came back to the plateau with him, it was the happiest I'd ever been.

"I didn't want you to live the kind of life I lived; hidden behind walls, constantly watched and being worried if the next day would be the day your life would be in danger. I did what I thought was best for you. I changed your memories and put you back in the treehouse. I knew that as long as Mordren thought you were here, you would be safe on the plateau. I knew when you thought we did not come back, you would go and stay with the Zanga because that is what your father and I taught you. And while my heart broke at leaving you, I knew you would be safer away from me."

Veronica shook her head and wiped her tears away in frustration. "So you left me in the treehouse just like that? You didn't even give me a choice! You let me believe that my father was alive all those years; you gave me false hope! How could you? How could you do that to me? All these years I've been living a lie!"

Abigail took a deep breath and released it. "It is easy for you to sit there and judge me, but it was not an easy decision for me to make. Every minute of my life I have doubted my own decision, but I did what I thought was best for you. I'm sorry you feel deceived, but I did what I did to protect you. If you had known about Avalon and all that had happened, you never would have stayed in the treehouse. I needed you to be safe, and if something were to have happened to you, I never would have forgiven myself."

"But why—"

Abigail held up her hand. "Veronica, I wish I had more time to make you understand, but now is not the time to dwell in the past. You have to be prepared for what is to come. Mordren's line will do whatever they can to make sure this upcoming cycle leaves the world in chaos. You cannot let this destruction happen. When the time comes, you must be ready. The balance must be preserved, Veronica."

"You mean us don't you? You'll be there to help." When Abigail wouldn't look her in the eyes, Veronica knew there was something she wasn't telling her. "Mother?"

"Why now of all times?" Abigail whispered softly. She picked up her head and looked Veronica in the eyes. "I was hoping matters would not come to this, I thought there would be more time, but there seems to be no other choice now."

"What are you trying to tell me, mother?"

"I'm dying."


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

"I'm dying."

"Wha-what?" Veronica heard the words, but her mind was refusing to accept them.

"I did not want to tell you this way, but there is no choice now. I had hoped for more time with you, but things do not always go according to plan." Abigail sighed and reached for Veronica's hand. "I'm sorry, my dear. I know it is not fair for us to be reunited finally and for this to happen. I'm afraid that I do not have that much time left."

Veronica shook her head. Her mother was right, it wasn't fair! All these years of searching and to finally find her mother to discover she was dying! What had she done to deserve this? Why couldn't she be happy? "How? How could this happen? You're too young to die!"

Abigail smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "As I told your friend earlier, things are not as simple as they seem. Avalon exists outside of time and space. Time is irrelevant here; I may seem young, but I lived a long life before I left here and met your father and had you. Those years I spent on the plateau were the happiest of my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything. It's my time, Veronica."

Veronica didn't even try to stop the tears that flowed down her face. All previous thoughts of dishonesty were forgiven and forgotten in seconds. She just wanted to spend whatever moments her mother had left with no regrets. "How…how…" As much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to ask the question she had to know the answer to.

Luckily, Abigail seemed to know what was on her mind. "How much time do I have left?" At Veronica's tearful nod, she smiled. "I have some time yet, dear heart. I fear I do not have the strength to help you, but I will be here to guide you when the time comes. Until then, we shall cherish our time together. Yes?" Veronica nodded and wiped her tears off her face.

Abigail smiled and rose off the bed. "Good. Now, you should be getting some sleep. I did not intend to exhaust you, but I felt it better to tell you while we had a moment alone." Abigail and Veronica both got the bed ready and Veronica climbed in. "Good night, dearest. Sweet dreams." Abigail leaned over and kissed Veronica on the forehead.

"Good night, mother." She saw Abigail walking towards the door. Veronica got up on her elbows and called her. "Mother? You're not going to bed?"

"Yes, but I have something to take care of first. I'll be back shortly. Good night." Abigail closed the door behind her as Veronica closed her eyes and dropped into a deep peaceful sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

When Marguerite made it to her room, she gratefully sunk into her bed. Their journey had been a long and tiring one and she was glad she could finally get some rest. It seemed that the closer they were getting to Avalon, the more intense her dreams became. It wasn't that she was experiencing them more often than before, but it seemed to her that there was an underlying feeling of urgency mixed in with the dreams now.

After waking up twice in a short amount of time, Marguerite gave up on getting more sleep that night. She decided that she would take a walk and try to clear her mind. As an afterthought, she grabbed the journal from her pack and took it with her. She might as well put her time to good use.

She opened the door and made her way down the torch lit halls and found herself in the same room that they had found Summerlee in. The room was warm as evidenced by the large fire roaring in the fireplace. Marguerite made her way to one of the large comfortable chairs and sat down.

She opened the journal and placed it on the small table in front of her. There wasn't a real reason for her to keep working on it; they had found Avalon and Veronica's mother. Abigail herself could probably tell her what was written in the last few pages, but for some reason she felt like she had to continue.

After hearing Abigail's explanation, Marguerite had figured that the storms she had learned about in her translations must have been in reference to the cycles of creation and destruction. But there was still so much she didn't understand. What did it have to do with her?

"Trouble sleeping?"

Marguerite looked up and saw Abigail standing at the entrance to the large room. At her nod, Abigail walked over and stood by the seat next to hers. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, please." Abigail sat down and her eyes made her way to the journal opened on the table before them. If she looked surprised at seeing it after so many years, her expression didn't show it. "I see you have been to the land beneath the earth."

"Yes. Several months ago we were testing Challenger's new balloon when we got caught in an updraft and got stranded down there. While trying to help us get home, Malone found out you and Thomas had been down there and found your journal as well. We couldn't figure out how or why you were down there though."

"When Thomas found all of the members of the expedition dead, he put Veronica in the care of the Amazons and came to Avalon with our balloon. By then my mother had already passed away and I had become the Protector. As much as I wanted to leave, the council would not allow it. I had duties to attend to and a whole plateau to watch over. After several months, Thomas and I talked them into letting us return to the plateau to get Veronica.

"On our way back to the plateau, we were caught in a nasty updraft that tore our balloon and we were stranded in the very same place you found yourselves to be. Luckily, we were nearby to a village and the people were so astonished by our balloon that they were more than happy to help us fix it. It took some convincing for them to believe the balloon was not magic. After a couple of days, the balloon was fixed and we were on our way. We were so grateful, we could not leave without giving them something. The only thing we had with us was one of our old journals that was left in the balloon by accident."

Marguerite listened to the story with interest. It certainly explained things, but one thing was still left unclear. "What about the runes in the back of the journal?"

"What about them?"

Marguerite leaned over and picked the journal up off the table. "I mean, what do these symbols mean? What's this language? I've managed to figure out a few words here and there, but I haven't had my usual luck with languages."

Abigail raised an eyebrow and gestured to the symbols. "You can understand this?"

Marguerite hesitated. "Well, not exactly. Like I said, I know a few words here and there, but I'm far from figuring it out. I thought it would help Veronica lead us to you so I've been trying for a long time to figure it out. Of course Challenger was able to figure out the map and here we are so we didn't have to rely on my translation, but I would still like to know what it says if you don't mind."

"Very well." Abigail leaned back in her chair which gave Marguerite the impression that this was going to be a lengthy tale. "This language is a very old language, one that hasn't been spoken out of these walls for thousands of years; the language of the Protectors.

"While the future is not set in stone, there are always signs that show us what fate has in store for us. You only have to be able to spot those signs when they appear." At that Abigail smiled sorrowfully. "When Thomas and I were trapped beneath the earth, I knew it was a sign. At this point, I did not know that Mordren was the cause for the deaths of all the members of the expedition, but I knew something terrible was at play. I had to consider the chance that we would not be able to get to Veronica so I had to leave something for her to know her true purpose in life. Just as I left my pendant with that shaman for Veronica to find, I left her this note."

Marguerite felt the more she learned, the more questions she had. "But why leave her a note in a language that she couldn't understand? How does that help her?"

Marguerite's question made Abigail smile as if she was humoring her. "Sometimes it is the things we do _not_ know that give us the most knowledge."

"What?"

"It is Veronica's destiny to be the Protector and I knew that if Thomas and I were stuck beneath the earth or if something should happen to me before I could tell her the truth myself, she would be guided to the truth. And although nothing did happen to me, Veronica did prove she needed the signs that had been left for her to find out her path in life. And even though the note by itself might not have helped Veronica, it let her know Thomas and I were alive up until that point and later on when she found my pendant she learned the truth. It set her on the path to Avalon and to her true destiny. And as I said previously, only the Protectors are able to read this language so I knew that it was safe to leave a message for Veronica that even Mordren's line could not understand should they have come across it."

Marguerite sat quiet for a moment and processed all she heard. "Well, it certainly would have saved me a lot of trouble trying to translate if you had just put 'Veronica, find Avalon' or something along those lines, but I guess you know best."

"Interesting you should say that Marguerite because now I have a question for you."

"Oh?" Marguerite asked clearly surprised.

"How is it you think it was that you were able to figure out what some of these symbols meant? After all, you are not a Protector."

Marguerite frowned. "Well, I don't know honestly."

"I think it's about time I told you another story. One you are long overdue to hear."

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews, feedback is appreciated! _


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

"Oh? Does this story go something like, 'Once upon a time?'" Marguerite asked.

"As a matter of fact, it does." Abigail cleared her throat and began. "Once upon a time, long before humans walked the earth, life began. Every so often, there would be new surges of creation and a fresh burst of life. As you know, the plateau is the source of everything. When man first learned of this phenomenon, he kept it secret. A group of people took it upon their shoulders to protect this sacred place and to help make sure that each new cycle was brought about safely.

"After a while, several people started thinking about the tremendous opportunity that was in front of them. Like any other human, many nurture their instincts for greed and power. These few banded together and vowed to take the power of the plateau for themselves. There was much unrest and in the end, the group split into two lines of people; the Protectors and the line that Mordren is descended from. To ensure that the greed of these few did not lead to destruction, the Protectors built Avalon and forged the pendant that Veronica now carries with her. That medallion lets the wielder control the lines of energy surging through the plateau. It was risky to create an object of such power, but it was necessary to make sure the plateau and the rest of the world remained safe."

"I'm sorry Abigail," Marguerite interrupted, "but what does this Protector, Anti-Protector business have to do with me? Shouldn't you be telling this to Veronica?"

"It is necessary for you to know of the past for you to be able to fully understand the present and the future."

"Well don't let me stop you then." Marguerite was greatly tempted to roll her eyes at yet another statement which didn't make sense. Why was it that those who had the answers to everything seemed to find it better to speak in riddles instead of actually answering straightforwardly?

Abigail smiled and Marguerite got the sense that she knew what she was thinking. "Let me try this a different way, Marguerite. Do you remember at dinner when I was explaining to everyone what the storms truly were?"

Marguerite nodded. "Yes, of course."

"How?" Abigail asked.

"How what?"

"Tell me what I said."

"Oh." Marguerite remembered back to earlier in the evening. "Well you said that there's a new cycle of creation every several hundred years and that the Protectors are always there to make sure that evil doesn't get control and plunge the world into chaos."

Abigail shook her head and held up her finger. "You're forgetting something."

"Such as?"

"I also told you that good and evil are constantly locked in battle with each other trying to gain higher ground over the other but never succeeding."

"What's your point?"

Abigail sighed and shook her head. "You already have the answer, but you do not know it. If you have two forces that are equal to each other, say like fire and water, what happens?"

"Look Abigail, I'm not in the mood for games and riddles. Why don't you just come out and say whatever you're tip-toeing around?"

Abigail held up both of her hands at the same height in front of her. "When you have two equal yet opposite forces, they are always in balance. Neither one will win over the other." Abigail shifted one hand higher than the other. "So if the Protectors represent good and the others represent evil, and we know these two forces are equal, how can either side win over the other?"

Marguerite shrugged her shoulders. "You guys ate all your vegetables?"

After putting her hands down, Abigail rolled her eyes. "Believe it or not Marguerite, I'm not telling you all this because I like hearing the sound of my own voice. There is a point to this."

Marguerite put up her hands in defeat. "All right, I'm sorry. Go ahead."

"Thank you. Now, as I said these two forces are balanced. As much as each side tries, it is always met with a stalemate. Long, long ago, just after the split occurred, something unforeseen happened; a third line was started. One of the Protectors joined with one of Mordren's ancestors. This third line was the solution to the problem. These chosen ones are the deciding factor. They alone are what push the balance in one direction or the other."

"So this person who is half Protector, half 'Anti-Protector' is actually the one who has the power? Why aren't we out there looking for this person? We need to get them on our side, although I don't know why anyone would want to willingly destroy the world."

Abigail's smile was grim as she looked at Marguerite. "That is one way to put it, yes. But I'm afraid it isn't as simple as you make it. This person has ties to both sides and even though they would like to deny it, it is part of who they are. It will be a difficult decision for this person to make even though to you or me it might seem mindless. It is not as easy as good triumphs over evil. Evil has won before."

"What happened?"

"It happened during the last cycle. There was a powerful druid priestess named Morrighan…"

_Morrighan! _Marguerite's eyes went wide as she heard the name, but she kept listening. She had to know why she kept coming across this name during the past few weeks.

"…she was revered by most, hated by others. As a leader she was competent; she seemed to do what was best for her people. The next cycle happened to fall in her lifetime and she was indeed the Chosen One of that generation. However, when the time came for her to choose, the temptation was too great and sided with evil. Everything from the previous cycle was destroyed and the world was plunged into a dark age."

She couldn't help it, Marguerite's jaw dropped in amazement. "You mean _the _Dark Ages? They were caused by one person?"

"I'm afraid so."

The mention of Morrighan had already set off warning bells in Marguerite's mind. She began putting together things that before seemed unrelated. Her dream from the cave where she and Roxton were trapped, her most recent disturbing dreams, and this new information from Abigail seemed to point to the fact that her latest dreams may not have been a vision of things to come but of things that have already come to pass. While Marguerite was relieved, she still didn't understand. If her dreams were indeed of Morrighan and the past, why was she having them? What did they have to do with her? "Abigail, as much as I'm enjoying story time, what does all this have to do with _me?_"

Marguerite watched Abigail lean back and fold her arms in her lap as if she was done speaking. "I think you already know the answer to that, Marguerite."

"No, I don't. Not unless you're trying to make the ridiculous notion that I am this Chosen One person?" Marguerite chuckled but stopped when she saw that Abigail was not laughing. She was simply looking at her and confirming what Marguerite deep down knew had to be the truth. "But how can you know this? How can you be so sure?"

"Believe me, I'm sure. Haven't you ever wondered where your wonderful knack for languages came from? How you've known things that you couldn't possibly know? These are just some of your abilities, but you have more that you have not yet uncovered."

"But I don't even know who my parents are, how can you be so sure I'm the right person?"

Abigail's expression changed to one of dismay. "This is your destiny, Marguerite. Things were supposed to be different, but there are many paths in life. The path that was chosen for you was not the one you ended up taking, but in the end you still arrived at the same place."

"What are you talking about! I'm tired of your riddles! What do you know about my parents?" Marguerite rose out of her chair in anger.

Abigail stood up as well. "Marguerite, please calm yourself. I-" At that moment, Abigail groaned and clutched at her chest.

"Abigail! What's the matter?" Marguerite barely had a chance to react before Abigail's eyes rolled back into her head and she fell. Marguerite managed to catch her and lower her gently to the ground. "Abigail!" Marguerite quickly checked for a pulse and was relieved to find it, it was weak, but it was still there.

"Help! Help! Somebody help me!"

_A/N: Sorry this update took me a while, but I've been super busy lately. Don't worry I won't leave you hanging on this cliffy for too long! ;) Let me know what you're thinking :)_


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

It had been several hours since Abigail collapsed and Marguerite had called for help. Veronica was inside Abigail's chambers with the healer while everyone else was outside pacing and hoping for good news about Abigail's health.

Everyone ceased their movements and looked up when they heard the door open revealing Veronica. Her face looked very grim and they feared the worst.

Malone walked over to stand at her side and caught one of her hands and gave her a squeeze of support. "How is she Veronica?"

Veronica drew in a shaky breath and tried uselessly to fight back the tears that already were winning the battle. She used her free hand to wipe them off her face. "She's slipped into a coma. The healer doesn't know if she'll ever regain consciousness because her body was already so weak to begin with. She told me a couple hours ago that she was dying and now this…" She couldn't fight the tears anymore, Veronica broke down weeping. Malone immediately turned her to him and held her closely as she sobbed into his shoulder. He ran his hand softly through her hair while his other traced soothing circles on her back. He led her to a chair and sat down next to her without letting her go.

The others were shocked as they watched Veronica break down and at the news that Abigail was dying. It was only hours ago that she had welcomed them and she seemed perfectly healthy.

"I don't understand, Vee. How can your mom be dying?" Finn asked softly.

Veronica sniffed and tried to get her breathing under control. She tried wiping some tears off her face with the back of her hand but gave up. Malone reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. "Thank you, Ned."

She didn't use it to wipe her face but instead just passed it back and forth between her hands nervously. "After you all went to bed, my mother and I stayed up for a while talking. She told me some things she felt that I needed to know but she saved the part about her dying for last. She said she didn't have a lot of time left, but that she had enough to stay and help when the time came. Why now, when I finally found her…?" Veronica trailed off as she raised the handkerchief to her eyes and sobbed again.

"I'm so sorry, Veronica." Marguerite reached out and put her hand on Veronica's shoulder. "If I had known…"

Veronica turned and faced Marguerite. "If you had known what, Marguerite? Just exactly what were you doing with my mother?"

Marguerite took a step back from Veronica in shock. "We were just talking, Veronica. What exactly are you trying to imply?"

"Well my mother was perfectly fine when she left our room and after talking to you for a couple minutes she collapses! You tell me what I should think!"

While Veronica's words hurt her and angered her a great deal, Marguerite fought back the temptation to lash back. "How about you think that I'm your friend and I would never do anything to harm your mother. I'm just going to assume that you're too upset to think clearly at the moment."

"You—" Veronica shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Marguerite, I didn't—"

Marguerite held up her hand. "Don't worry about it." She reached for Veronica's hand and pulled her slowly to her feet. "You are exhausted and you still have a bump on your head, you are going right to bed."

"But—"

"No buts, you'll thank me in the morning." Marguerite gave Veronica a brief hug and whispered something in her ear. As they pulled apart, Veronica had a shaky smile on her face. "Now Malone here is going to escort you to my room since I wasn't planning on sleeping anymore anyways."

"I am?" Malone nodded his head, "I mean, I am. Come on, Veronica." He draped one arm around her shoulders as they walked down the hall.

"The poor dear, all of this is such a shock to her." Summerlee looked at the closed door of Abigail's room. "I know Abigail wanted more time with Veronica. It's a shame this had to happen now."

Challenger rose from his seat where he had been sitting quietly the past few hours. "Arthur! You don't mean to say you've known Abigail was dying this entire time and you didn't tell us?"

Looking at Summerlee, it would seem he hadn't changed since that horrible day he fell over the falls. But looking closely, he looked wise beyond his years. "It wasn't my place to tell, Challenger. While I've been here, I've learned many things and tried to help where I could, but in the end it's not up to me is it?"

There was silence for a few moments as his question had an unspoken answer. Summerlee excused himself to go sit with Abigail for a while.

Challenger cleared his throat. "Well, seeing as how it is almost morning, there is no use in going back to bed. I think I will go for a walk."

"I'll come with ya, Challenger." Finn kicked her feet in front of her and got out of her chair. Marguerite and Roxton watched them disappear down the corridor.

"So," Roxton began as he turned to face Marguerite, "what are you going to do since you're not going back to bed?"

Marguerite shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, probably just take a walk around the city. Maybe watch the sunrise and try to clear my head."

Roxton offered his arm. "Mind some company?"

"I suppose not." Marguerite slipped her arm in between his and smiled. "Lead on, Lord Roxton."

They walked down the hall that led to the door while a pair of watchful eyes slipped back into the shadows and disappeared.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Marguerite and Roxton walked through the quiet city. It took the dawn for them to fully appreciate the beauty of it. When they had arrived the day before it was near dusk and the sun made the city have an almost heavenly glow.

With the dawn, the city slowly came to life. Marguerite and Roxton watched as the dormant city sprang to life before their eyes. People emerged from their homes and went about their business as they would on any other given day. Shops and stands were opened, smells from the bakeries drifted through the streets, and sounds of children playing in alleyways and people trying to make bargains could be heard.

Marguerite and Roxton weren't the subject of open stares, which they found to be the usual treatment when they found themselves in a new environment. As they walked through the streets they found the people to be quite friendly, most of them speaking warm greetings and several offering their services as tour guides to show them around the city. They politely declined and thanked them for the offer and continued their own exploration.

As their walk continued, Marguerite and Roxton found themselves to be in a brighter mood. Surrounded by people in such high spirits, they couldn't help but feel their steps lighten as they went. Marguerite smiled as she saw a nearby group of children playing and envied them. As children, they had no worries and were oblivious as to what was really happening at the moment. Marguerite had a great deal of things to deal with, and many came with Abigail's revelations from the previous night. It seemed as fate worked against her whenever it came to her parents. Just as it seemed she was going a step in the right direction, something would always happen to set her back.

Marguerite was interrupted from her train of thought as she found herself losing her balance. Reliable as always, Roxton made sure she did not fall. "Thank you, John. Seems you've been doing that a lot lately."

He gave her one of his brightest smiles. "I'll never let you fall, Marguerite."

His words sent a rush of emotion through her body and couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. How he managed to say the perfect words to set her heart a flutter would always be a mystery to her, but it was one that she didn't mind not knowing the answer to. Her eyes strayed to the ground and found the culprit that nearly caused her fall. She chuckled and watched as the rubber ball continued to roll down the street and into a nearby alley. Seeing a group of children nearby who looked as if they lost something, she knew who the owners were.

"I'll be right back, John." She chased down the small ball and found it had come to a stop near the end of the alley. She shook her head to herself and bent over to retrieve it. As she stood back up, she heard footsteps behind her and sighed. "Really Roxton, I think I can track down one small ball by myself." She turned and saw the footsteps she heard did not belong to Roxton but a man she did not know. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were my friend."

The man smiled but for some reason it sent a chill through Marguerite. The man was dressed completely in black but looked strangely familiar to her. He was a tall man with dark hair and piercing icy blue eyes. One could go as far as to call him handsome, but looks did not tell the true story of the man. Marguerite felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. Behind his eyes, she could see a fire smoldering though the smile on his face never faltered. "That is quite all right, Ms. Krux." The man took a few steps forward and Marguerite acting on instinct, took a step back.

All of Marguerite's inner alarms were going off. She was about to reach for her pistol when she realized that she hadn't brought it with her when she had left with Roxton for their walk. Being weaponless, her only other option of running and that too was out of the question. She was boxed in the alley with nowhere to go. Cursing herself for getting caught in such a position, she put her wits to use and tried to find a way to stall and hope that Roxton would come to her aid when she didn't return quickly.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"Did I forget to mention that? How careless of me, please forgive me. My name is Dren. Perhaps you've met my father? Mordren?"

This time when he moved forward, Marguerite purposely moved back only to find herself with no where left to go. Her back touched the cold hard stone wall behind her and she shivered. Even though Marguerite had stopped moving backwards, Dren continued to move forward until he was mere inches from her body. He placed one arm on each side of her and brought his face so close to hers that she could feel his hot breath on her face. Marguerite turned her face to the side and clenched her fists at her sides as her fury built up within her. She lifted her leg and stomped down on Dren's left foot with as much might as she could muster. As he knelt forward in pain, she clasped both her hands together and swung upwards connecting powerfully with his face. He howled in pain and Marguerite used that chance to make a break for it. "Roxton! Roxton!"

She got halfway down the alley when she felt an arm snake her and pull her roughly backwards. Dren was holding his broken nose with one hand while the other still held the rough grip on her wrist.

"What do you want with me, damn it?"

"Isn't that obvious, Marguerite? I came here for you of course." He leered at her and Marguerite felt repulsed. Before she knew it she found herself surrounded by a dozen men all similarly dressed to Dren. She watched them step out of the shadows and her mouth dropped in shock. She didn't have a second to react before two men stepped forward and she was roughly passed off to them. "Take her!" Dren ordered. It was at that moment that Roxton made his appearance.

"Marguerite! Let her go!"

What happened next could only be described as sheer chaos. All hell broke loose as Roxton fought several men at once trying to make his way to Marguerite. For every punch he landed, two more connected with him.

Marguerite meanwhile took advantage of the distraction to get free of the two men holding her. The two men had foolishly loosened their grip on her arms as they watched the fray. Freeing her right arm, she attacked the man on her left and managed to grab a stray piece of wood in the alley to arm herself with a weapon. With a well placed blow, one guard went down but wasn't quick enough to avoid the second guard.

From his position, Roxton had yet to make progress. The noise of their battle had carried into the streets and runners were sent for the Avatar warriors. But Roxton fought on unaware, trying to get closer to Marguerite. He saw her fighting and was glad she was unharmed for the moment. He was beginning to tire but he wouldn't give up until she was free or he had no more breath left in his body.

Then what he feared came true. He saw Marguerite fall and she was lost to his sight.

"You fool!" He heard one of the men shout. "What use is she if she's dead?"

Fearing the worst yet praying it was not true, he doubled his efforts to get Marguerite with hidden reserves of strength he didn't know he had. "Marguerite! Marguerite! Answer me, Marguerite!"

It was a heroic effort, and those who told the tales of the battle that day all spoke of how the brave Roxton fought valiantly for his lady love. The fates, however, were against him that day. So concerned with the fate of Marguerite he was, that he didn't notice himself slowly surrounded, nor did he see the blow that would send him into darkness not knowing what would befall Marguerite once he was gone.

His body fell limply into the dirt with a loud thump. "Take him!" Dren ordered. "Our work is done here."

One of the darkly clad men bent over and bore Roxton with ease over his shoulder. The dozen men and their leader disappeared into the shadows with their prize in hand.

Moments later when the Avatar warriors arrived, they found the alley empty save Marguerite, laying unconscious, alone and forgotten.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

Veronica was glad that she had listened to Marguerite and took the opportunity to get a little rest. She woke up feeling a little better, the dull ache in her head barely registering. The smile that came to her face couldn't be helped as she opened the door to her room to find Malone asleep in a chair in the hallway. She would have let him sleep except the position he was in would end up hurting his neck later.

She knelt beside his chair and lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. "Ned, wake up." Veronica was prepared to have to try a couple more times to wake him up as he was a very sound sleeper, but to her surprise he woke immediately.

"Oh, Veronica! Sorry, I must have dozed off."

Veronica chuckled and stood up. "You know, I'm sure the bed in your room would have been more comfortable than that chair."

"Of that I'm sure." Malone stood up and stretched trying to get work the stiffness out of his muscles. "I wasn't planning on falling asleep."

Veronica flashed one of her knowing smiles. "Yeah how else could you make sure I actually slept?"

Malone stumbled for an answer but Veronica took pity on him and let it go. She hooked her arm through his.

"Come on, I want to go check on my mother."

Veronica opened the door to her mother's bedroom quietly and entered with Malone following behind. Summerlee was seated in a chair at Abigail's bedside and looked up when he heard the door open.

"Any change?" Malone asked.

Summerlee shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not."

Veronica sat on the edge of the bed and took her mother's hand. "She looks so peaceful, like she's sleeping. I almost expect her to wake up any minute."

She felt Malone's hand on her shoulder giving her silent support. "Don't give up hope Veronica. If she's anything like you, she's a fighter."

All three heads in the room turned when they heard shouting outside. They jumped to their feet and raced to the door.

"Good heavens!" Arthur exclaimed.

They all recognized Marguerite shouting and followed the sound of her voice towards the entrance of the palace.

"If I have to tell you one more time to put me down you brute you'll live to regret it, I promise you!"

Veronica and the others rounded the corner to find a somewhat worse for wear Marguerite in the arms of an Avatar warrior. He seemed almost relieved to see Veronica.

"My lady! Your friend needs to be attended to."

Marguerite tried to get out of the warrior's arms but was met again with no success. She had regained consciousness on the way back to the city and was surprised to find herself being carried by an Avatar warrior and escorted by a dozen more back to the palace. After several fruitless attempts to get them to turn back to look for Roxton, she settled for trying to get on her own two feet so she could go back herself.

"I don't need anything, just put me down! Veronica, call off these goons, please!"

Veronica nodded her head and the warrior gently placed Marguerite on her own two feet. "Yeah thanks, next time I'll call a taxi."

"What happened to you, Marguerite?" Malone saw Marguerite was a little unsteady on her feet so he moved to stand by her just in case she needed a hand.

"You mean besides Veronica and myself having matching bumps on the head? Well let's see, Roxton and I got attacked in the city and I got whacked on the head. Other than that, everything's just peachy! We need to go back and look for Roxton, who knows what's happened to him!"

"He wasn't with you when you came to?" Veronica asked.

"I don't know, Veronica. You try getting information out of these guys. I could break into a vault easier than cracking them."

Veronica turned back to the warriors. "Was there any sign of Roxton where you found Marguerite?"

The man who had carried Marguerite in shook his head. "There was no sign of him, my lady. The Dark Ones have him now."

"Dark Ones? Who are they?" Malone asked.

Marguerite scoffed remembering the attire of the men who had attacked her. "Well that's an accurate description. I ran into Mordren's son, Dren a little while ago. He is just as despicable as his father and I don't even want to think about what they could be doing to Roxton so can we get going please?"

"Just a moment, my dear." Summerlee said. "You said you lost consciousness during the attack. Why wouldn't they take you along with Roxton?"

Malone nodded his head in agreement. "Marguerite this sounds like a trap. We shouldn't go rushing in without thinking of some kind of plan. We don't even know where they've taken him."

Marguerite's head spun to face Malone. The usual fire and spirit that had burned in her eyes that had been lacking the past few weeks was rekindled. Marguerite swayed and Malone used his arm to steady her but she flung it off. "No, Malone. I am _not_ going to sit here and wait. I know that if they had taken me instead of him, Roxton would not sit here and waste time. He would look for me and I can do no less for him."

"A noble sentiment, Marguerite, but foolhardy nonetheless."

All heads turned to the source of the voice. The Avatar warriors bowed their heads in respect with and raised one arm to their chest while the others were stunned into silence.

"M-mother! You're awake!"

Veronica raced to Abigail's side and hugged her tightly. Abigail wanted to take the time to reassure Veronica she was fine, but at the moment there were more pressing things to attend to. She pulled back from Veronica and turned to Marguerite again.

"I know your instincts tell you to run to Roxton, but that is precisely what you cannot do, Marguerite."

Marguerite crossed her arms defiantly. "And why is that?"

"As I told you last night, your place is at Veronica's side. And this new event tells me what I need to know. The time has come for you both to fulfill your destinies."


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

"As I told you last night, your place is at Veronica's side. And this new event tells me what I need to know. The time has come for you both to fulfill your destinies."

"Mother? What are you talking about?" Veronica wore a look of confusion and it was shared by everyone but Summerlee and Marguerite.

It was understandable that Abigail's words had that effect. Marguerite hadn't told the others about their conversation the night previously. It wasn't that she was keeping it secret, but between being worried about Abigail's health and now this business with Roxton, she hadn't had the chance.

"I told you all that you each had a part to play in the events to come. Marguerite happens to have one of the leading roles. Veronica," Abigail turned to her daughter, "I promised you I would help you when the time came and now it has. You and Marguerite must trust each other for in these trying times you must rely on each other implicitly. There can be no turning back and no times for doubt."

Veronica still wasn't sure what her mother was talking about but she nodded her acceptance. "Of course I trust Marguerite. I trust her with my life."

Abigail looked grim. "I am pleased to hear this, however it is not only your life that hangs in the balance." Her eyes shifted over to Marguerite. "Remember what we talked of last night, Marguerite. I told you the decision would not be as easy as you thought. The temptation for you may be great, but you already know what will happen if you make the wrong choice."

Marguerite knew what Abigail was referring to. The dreams that had been haunting her for weeks had not been premonitions but visions of the past, she knew that now. She remembered the look in Morrighan's eyes when she gave up her own life to save Marguerite's; there was regret in them. Morrighan had accepted her fate and was ready to die. But maybe she knew the burden that would be placed on her descendent and sent her a warning. Each step that Marguerite took closer to Avalon, the more urgent the warnings became. It wasn't until this point that Marguerite fully understood the situation.

It was a burden she didn't think her shoulders could bear. Dren knew that Roxton was the only thing that would make her hesitate in making her decision. It wasn't fair; the decision seemed an easy one and she knew what Roxton would say if he was there. The fate of the world was more important than him. She loved him more than she ever thought she could, and the fact that this decision was laid on her was one that tore her up inside. His fate was in her hands, but then again, so was the fate of everyone else's. What was she going to do? She knew that she couldn't go on living without Roxton by her side. Signing his death warrant would be like forfeiting her own life. She would go on living because she wasn't the type of person to give up, but it just wouldn't be much of a life without him with her.

But there was still time. She didn't have to make a decision right this very minute. There was still hope she could find Roxton and until then she wouldn't give up. Marguerite, strengthened in her resolve, nodded at Abigail. "I remember, Abigail. But while there is still a breath left in my body I won't give up on him. I can't. You can call me foolish or reckless, but I know what I'm doing. Now someone get me my pistol, I'm going out there to look for him."

Abigail sighed and frowned but honestly wasn't expecting a different answer. Her friends who knew her even better than Abigail weren't surprised either. They, however, would have better luck in reasoning with her.

Malone was closest and could see Marguerite's hands shaking. Her anger was dissipating and with it her energy. "Marguerite, you're in no condition to go out looking for him. You're hurt and you should be resting. You won't be helping Roxton if you hurt yourself more looking for him."

Anger flashed in her eyes as she regarded Malone. "Damn it, Malone! I am not going to let them kill him!"

He threw up his hands and tried to get her to calm down. "Relax, Marguerite. I'm not saying we should give up on him. I only said you were in no condition to go out looking for him. You should stay here, and we'll look for him."

"Malone, I don't-"

Malone took her hands and stopped her from talking. "Marguerite, do you trust me?"

Marguerite looked shocked at his question. "Of course I do, Malone."

"Then listen to me and stay here please. We'll find him, I promise."

She looked into his eyes and sighed. Another man she had grown to love over these past three years, but this one as a brother. She knew before he went on his quest that he would be a great man, and now that he had returned she had seen the drastic change. Physically he was the same, but his soul had changed. He had more confidence in himself. He wasn't in doubt anymore. He had found his inner balance and knew where his path lay. "All right, Malone. Bring him back."

He smiled and hugged her to reassure her. "Good. Now I don't have to worry about Roxton throttling me after we get him back."

Summerlee moved to stand next to Marguerite while Malone and the others prepared to go looking for Roxton. Veronica was already ready and walked over to the group after they gathered their weapons but Abigail stopped her.

"You cannot go with them, Veronica."

Veronica looked puzzled. "Why not?"

"It is not safe even in the city anymore. You are still flesh and blood, Veronica though you are a Protector. If something happens to you, then their victory will be assured. You and Marguerite must both stay here."

Veronica wanted to go looking for Roxton but considered her mother's words. She could trust Challenger, Finn, and Malone and she could stay behind with Marguerite. She was hurt and she could use a friend to talk to. "All right, Mother."

"Come, my dear." Summerlee and Veronica led Marguerite to a chair. "Let me take a look at your head."

Marguerite sat down but her eyes followed her friends as they walked out the door. Malone met Marguerite's eyes as he walked out the door and she knew he wouldn't stop until he found Roxton. She smiled her thanks and he nodded as he followed the others out.

"Don't worry, Marguerite. Everything will be all right." Veronica reached for Marguerite's hand and squeezed it while Summerlee smiled to comfort her and got to work bandaging her head.

"I hope so, Veronica." Marguerite leaned her head back against the wall and let Summerlee deal with her head. She continued to hold Veronica's hand as she closed her eyes. Her body was there but her thoughts were all with Roxton. She could only pray he was safe and that her friends would find him in time.

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, but real life sucks sometimes! Thanks for those of you who are reviewing after reading, I really do appreciate it!_


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

"Everything is progressing according to plan. I will be ruling over the plateau by this time tomorrow and the Protector's line will finally be finished leaving us nothing to worry about."

Two men were kneeling before a chair where their leader sat, all three of them dressed in similar black clothing.

"Yes, my lord," the first man answered.

"Yes, it _was_ a genius plan to take the knight to force the Chosen One's hand, my lord," the second kneeling man answered.

The man in the chair stood up and slapped the man harshly in the face. "You fool! It was a genius plan until you deviated from it! When did I tell you to strike the woman! It was fortunate for you she did not die, for if she had, your own life would have been forfeit!"

The man lowered his head. "I am sorry, my lord. She escaped from our grasp and was trying to escape. I was merely trying to stop her."

"Enough of your excuses, I tire of listening to them day after day! Tell the other men to be prepared for tomorrow and then check on Roxton. He should regain consciousness any minute. When he awakens, notify me immediately!"

"Yes, my lord."

Both men bowed as their leader exited the room. Each split up to take care of their tasks. One went out to converse with the men while the other went to check on Roxton.

XOXOXOXOXO

Roxton groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. One hand automatically went to his head and he immediately pulled it away as the contact made the pain flare up to a new level. He remembered Veronica use the phrase "went three rounds with a trog and lost" and it seemed fitting in his situation. His side was exceedingly sore and he was almost positive he had bruised, if not broken ribs.

He slowly opened his eyes and let his eyes slowly adjust to the dark room. He'd been in worse prison cells. This one had a bed with sheets, some water and food set on the ground by the door, but nothing he could use as a weapon.

As Roxton shifted closer on the ground to examine his provisions, he heard a key being turned in the door and immediately went back into his prior position. By pretending to be asleep, he might be able to glean some information about his captors without them realizing it.

He peered though his half open eyes and got a look at the man who entered the room. He was dressed in the same black clothing as the men that attacked Marguerite and himself in the alley, so he assumed they were captured by the same men. Roxton watched as the man knelt down and checked that his food was untouched and sighed and stood up again.

Roxton saw the man beginning to walk over to him. He made sure not to move too quickly and alert the man that he was feigning unconsciousness. Roxton had to assume that if they hadn't killed Marguerite, that she was there somewhere also. He could only hope she was only mildly injured though his thoughts quickly jumped to conclusions in the alley and let him be overpowered. It was up to him to use the situation to his advantage to escape and try to find Marguerite.

Roxton closed his eyes completely as the man stood beside him. The man kicked Roxton in his side to see if he was awake but Roxton did not stir. He had kicked him in a sore spot, but Roxton did not let even a moan escape his lips. The man sighed and turned around to walk back to the door.

This was when Roxton chose to make his move.

Roxton quickly cracked open his eyes and swung his leg out and tripped the guard. He went crashing down to the ground and Roxton picked up the tray of his food flinging the food to the side and used it knock the guard unconscious.

Roxton dragged his body out of the door way into the center of the room and made his way back to the door. Having grabbed the guard's keys, Roxton cautiously stuck his head out the doorway to make sure the coast was clear, and then locked the guard in his cell.

Roxton was at the end of a hallway so there was only one way to go. Forward. As he made his way down the hallway, he peered into the other rooms in hope of finding Marguerite but he had no luck. Either she was in another part of the building, or she wasn't there at all. As much as he didn't want to do it, he was unarmed in a place he knew nothing about. They would notice his absence before long and he couldn't help Marguerite if he got thrown right back in his cell. His only option was to head back to Avalon as quickly as he could to get reinforcements.

The first thing he needed to do was get out safely. He stayed in the shadows as much as he could though he didn't hear anyone in the immediate area. After he navigated a few hallways, he found himself in a large room with a lone chair sitting at the head. He saw two big double doors and started heading for them.

As his hands reached for the handles of the doors, he heard footsteps and immediately stilled.

"Leaving so soon, Lord Roxton?"

Roxton turned around quickly and saw a brief flash of black clothing and a sneering face before he lost consciousness again for the second time that day.

_A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up, everytime I tried to access the site I couldn't get in. Thanks for those who are reviewing after reading I appreciate it!_


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Regaining consciousness, Roxton groaned as his senses slowly returned to him. He thought he heard a commotion going on around him before he realized it was the painful thumping of the blood pounding in his head. The pressure was intense and it was difficult for him to clear the cobwebs and focus on his surroundings.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was in the same hall he was in where he had been punched into oblivion. He had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but once again his mind was focused on escape. Whoever had captured him didn't seem worried about him escaping because he wasn't restrained and there were no guards on duty.

Reaching out his arms to the nearby wall for balance, Roxton stood shakily on his feet and took a moment to gain his equilibrium before attempting to walk. His two knocks to the head had given him a massive headache and he figured the accompanying dizziness and nausea meant he most likely had a concussion. However, he couldn't worry about that now. The first thing he had to do was to find a way back to Avalon and get help for Marguerite.

Very slowly, Roxton made his way to the doors that led out of the hall. Hearing footsteps, he found himself in the same situation as he did several hours ago. Only this time, the man who had previously attacked with an amazing agility did not strike, but smiled.

"Lord Roxton, you are finally awake. You must forgive me for hurting you previously, but I could not have you leaving before we had any fun. Not a very gracious attitude on your part, I might add. After all the trouble I went through to get you here. Such a shame." The man shook his head in disappointment and sighed.

Roxton narrowed his eyes at the man he recognized from the alley and couldn't help the feeling of revulsion that came over him. He knew this man was responsible for the attack and if he played his cards right, he might be able to find out what happened to Marguerite.

Seeing no way to escape at the moment, Roxton made his way to the long table and took a seat at one of the many chairs. The man smiled and took a seat opposite him. While he did this, Roxton's eyes were constantly studying his enemy trying to learn anything about his character that might help him in the future. This was the second time this man had snuck up on Roxton and it surprised him. Usually his hunter's instincts were sharp and allowed him to feel when he was in danger or being followed. Roxton couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something about this man sitting across the table from him that made him wary. His dark hair and fair complexion didn't make him look particularly menacing or dangerous, but it was as if the atmosphere surrounding him was dark and reached out to smother all those around him.

Roxton prepared himself and decided he was going to get to the bottom of the situation. "Who are you? And what have you done with Marguerite?"

The man's eyes narrowed as he looked at Roxton. "You mean to say you have not heard of me? Abigail must have planned to tell you about me later. Unfortunate for her that her poor health caught up with her." His sincerity was not convincing and only caused Roxton to be more on his guard. This man knew about Abigail's failing health and insinuated he knew that she had slipped into a coma. Somehow he could easily pass in and out of the city as well as the palace. He was more dangerous than he looked and his manners and mock sincerity would not cause Roxton to underestimate his opponent.

"You didn't answer either of my questions."

"So I did not." A look of surprise flitted across his features before it disappeared to be replaced by a smirk directed at Roxton. He gave a hearty chuckle and leaned back to relax in his chair. "You will have to blame yourself for being late to the party when I introduced myself to the lovely Miss Krux. For someone who was sworn to protect others, you have been lacking in your duty lately. Your two lady friends were not only attacked by a raptor but also captured and you were not able to do a single thing to help them. It was merely luck that their captors were on your side. And my comrades and I were able to separate you from your lady love quite easily." The man seemed to find this exceedingly humorous because he started to chuckle again. He leaned across the table towards Roxton and began speaking in a hushed tone. "You do not even know if Miss Krux is still alive, do you? Blind hope is all you have at the moment."

It was apparent to both of them that Roxton did not have the upper hand and the man was in no hurry to reveal his hand or his strategy. By keeping Roxton in the dark as long as possible, it served to throw him off his balance. Luckily for Roxton, he recognized the beginnings of a psychological game and was able to keep himself restrained.

"Your nose seems to be broken. Marguerite has a nasty uppercut, doesn't she?" It was Roxton's turn to smirk as he saw the man's cool mask fade away into a brief expression of anger. "Listen…What do I call you? My thoughts were running along the lines of 'smug bastard' but if you have a name you prefer, I could use that instead."

The man's calm exterior quickly slipped back into place, "My name is Dren."

Roxton nodded his head. "Well, Dren, may I be perfectly frank with you?"

Dren nodded and waved one of his arms in front of him. "By all means."

The intricate game had already begun and the pretense of pleasantries was just one of the pieces. "Thank you," Roxton began, "I cannot begin to guess as to what your plans are for capturing me, but if you have captured Marguerite as well, you have gone out of your way to keep me separated from her. If she was dead, I would assume you would tell me if only to gain another psychological advantage over me. So at this point, I believe that Marguerite is alive and hopefully well. You also have made a point to make me aware that you know of Abigail and the inter workings of Avalon, so I assume that Marguerite and myself are only small details in relation to a larger plan. You have had several chances to kill me and you have not done so. Am I on the right track, Dren?"

Dren was disconcerted that Roxton had managed to glean as much as he could without having been told anything. It was obvious to him that Roxton was very observant and intelligent, but he didn't have to worry about him for long.

Dren looked at the smirking face of Roxton and grinned thinking about what lay ahead. "Perhaps you are, Lord Roxton. The tales told on the plateau do not do justice to your intelligence. However, as much as you think you know, you are still ignorant as to your purpose in this situation. Indeed, Miss Krux is alive and well. I will go so far as to tell you that she is not even a prisoner here. She is safely in Avalon with the rest of your friends."

Roxton was confused. "But you attacked Marguerite in the city. Why take me and not her?"

Dren placed both his hands on the table and leaned across and came face to face with Roxton. "My plan was never to capture Marguerite, Lord Roxton. I was always after you! And now that I have you, the next part of my plan can be set into action."

"What are you talking about?"

"You, my dear Lord Roxton, are going to be the cause of the demise of your beloved Miss Krux!"


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

By the time Dren finished his speech, he was already standing arms in the air with a look of triumph on his face. His plan had taken meticulous planning and a considerable amount of patience on his part. Finally, the time had come when he would get his day of glory. Not only for himself, but for his father! He was going to make not only the Protector's daughter pay for killing his father, but he was personally going to make the Protector herself pay for banishing his father from the plateau. Because of her, he barely had memories of his father! All of them would pay! Every single last one of them would suffer just as he had suffered!

He turned back to Roxton expecting to see him panicked or even terrified but he was wearing the same calm expression as earlier, almost a smug smirk. Such audacity! He had no idea who he was dealing with!

"You do not seem very worried, Lord Roxton."

Roxton leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "That's because I'm not."

"You are a fool, Roxton. If you truly knew what lay ahead, you would not sit there ignorantly believing you would escape your fate!"

"If you knew how many people I have run across on this plateau these past few years who have preached death and destruction believing they had the upper hand, you wouldn't be worried either. Because as you can see, I am still here alive and well while those others were not as fortunate."

Dren slammed his fists on the table and it shook under the force. "I am not like those others! I am Dren, son of Mordren, leader of my people! Not only will you and your friends pay for what you have done to dishonor us, the whole world will pay!"

"Mordren?" Roxton asked. He immediately recognized the name and remembered Veronica told us all she could remember and how he killed her father when she was only a child.

"That's right! Mordren was my father. Now that he is dead, I have taken his place and will lead our people in victory! We will finally have control over the plateau and neither the miserable Protector or her daughter will be able to stop us!"

"So what does any of this have to do with me?"

"You are going to be the reason we win this war! It is obvious that Miss Krux is in love with you, and when the time comes, she will have to make a decision. She has a much bigger part to play in the events approaching than you know. She is the Chosen One. Veronica will have to wield the trion as the new Protector, but Marguerite alone has the power to sway the balance. On her shoulders there is a burden that is inescapable. Either you or the world, and I believe that she is selfish enough that she will choose you! If she does not choose correctly, your life will be forfeit! That is the only reason I have not killed you already!"

"You don't know Marguerite as well as you think. She would never risk countless lives just to save me. Our love for each other is irrelevant. She knows I would never ask her to save my life when others depended on her to make the right decision. She knows I would give my life for hers gladly!"

Dren waved his hand in the air. "I have already considered that possibility which is why if she refuses, I will then offer her something she cannot refuse. I will offer her what she has been searching for her entire life. The very thing that motivated her to come to this plateau!"

Roxton couldn't believe it. "You know who her parents are?"

Dren let out a loud laugh. "Do not be so naïve, Lord Roxton, of course not. But she does not know that. I know she has been searching for years for her true name and when I tell her I know it, the temptation will be too great for her I'm sure. When my father was on the plateau several months ago, he came to me and told me of his plan. He showed me the medallion he received from Shanghai Xan and he mentioned the arrangement Xan had made with a Miss Smith. I remember how my father laughed as he told me the tale for he himself knew the name on the certificate. Sadly he did not pass the information on to me as he was forced to put his plan into action quickly. What is even more ironic is that since Xan burned Marguerite's birth certificate, the only person on earth who knew Marguerite's real name was my father, and one of Marguerite's best friends killed her only chance!" Dren had a good laugh on Marguerite's account and Roxton found himself becoming enraged.

"I'm convinced that one day Marguerite will find out who her parents were. And even if Marguerite knew that your father possessed that knowledge, I don't think she would lament the loss of his life. Marguerite loves Veronica like a sister, and we all were glad she got her revenge!"

The smile that was on Dren's face evaporated quickly. "The day I heard of my father's death, I vowed to avenge his death! He was forced to flee the plateau because of the Protector and when he finally returned ready lead us to glory, her miserable daughter murdered him! The Protector and her daughter will both pay for what they did to him, but Veronica even more! Her death will be slow and painful!"

Roxton saw Dren was close to losing it completely. The veins on his forehead were bulging and there was a fire burning in his eyes. If he could gain the upper hand, maybe he could overpower him escape. "You speak of murder? Your father killed Veronica's father before her very eyes! He was a sorry excuse for a human being and Veronica did the world a favor by killing him!"

"How dare you speak of my father in such a manner!" Dren howled in rage and threw himself over the table at Roxton. They collided with a force that pushed Roxton's chair backward causing them both to crash to the ground. Dren pulled himself up to his knees and crouched over Roxton while using one hand to keep him pinned to the ground. He landed punch after punch while Roxton tried fruitlessly to get free. "My father was a great man! You'll never be the type of man he was!"

"Thank heaven for small miracles." Roxton felt himself slowly suffocating. Roxton saw his plan hadn't worked out quite as he planned. The pain that was in his head earlier would have been a picnic compared to the one he had now. His ribs were aching and the pressure on his lungs was so intense he could barely breathe.

"Dren! What are you doing, man! We need him alive!"

Dren stopped his relentless attack and seemed to be awoken from a haze. He looked down at Roxton and realized what he had done and quickly jumped off of him. He was extremely angry that he let Roxton goad him into such a rage.

As Dren's weight lifted off his chest and the tight grip on his neck was loosened, Roxton breathed in deeply. He was hit with a sudden fit of coughing and as he turned his head he saw blood on the stone floor. Roxton turned to his back to relieve the pressure on his ribs and closed his eyes. He could hear the two men talking and Roxton thought the second man's voice sounded familiar. As he opened his eyes, Roxton found it exceedingly difficult to focus. As the faces became clearer, Roxton wondered if the several knocks to the head were making him see things. Roxton clearly recognized the man standing beside Dren, but his mind kept telling him his eyes had to be wrong.

"It can't be…"

_A/N: Thanks for those who have reviewed so far, they really mean a lot!_


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

"But you're not real…just a dream…."

Roxton painfully rolled to his side and used his hands to push his aching body off the floor. Dren and the man stopped their conversation and watched as Roxton barely made it to a chair before collapsing into it.

"I see you recognize me, Lord Roxton. Very curious indeed, for the magic I used on you should have been enough to erase me from your memory entirely."

Roxton stared in wonder at the man before him. "So then it is true." The man's appearance had changed since he had seen him last. His longer hair was now cut short, and instead of a long robe, he wore the similar black attire of the other men he had seen previously.

The man smiled and nodded. "Indeed it is."

Roxton was very confused. "But why are you here? Surely you cannot be helping _him_? Don't you realize who this man is?"

The man shared a look with Dren and let out a hearty laugh at Roxton's expense. "But of course, Lord Roxton, I am no fool. I know who I am aligning myself with."

"But Bokra…this man has evil intentions against Marguerite! If you believe her to be the leader of your people, you shouldn't be helping this man!"

Bokra found this extremely amusing and took a few moments to calm himself. "Excuse me, Roxton, but if you truly understood what was occurring, you would know why this entire situation is humorous. Oh and please, call me Zoth. I have grown rather fond of the name since your delightful little friend used it."

Roxton recognized the name immediately. "Zoth? The one who destroys the future? But that's impossible!"

"Not impossible at all. You see-"

"There is no need to explain ourselves to the likes of him!" Dren cast a disgusted look at Roxton. He was still irritated at losing his temper so easily.

Zoth held up his hand to calm him down. "I do not mind, and besides he will die eventually. There is no harm letting him know what our plan is. That way when he dies, he will know what fate his friends will suffer and how he will be powerless to help them.

"I see that you remember who I am although I cannot explain the reason why. But the magic I used on you, Marguerite, and your friend Malone still has a hold on you for you did not trust your own eyes at first. Everything that you remember did in fact happen. Only Marguerite is not the reincarnation of Morrighan, our high priestess, as I led you all to believe. Morrighan did not cast us adrift to save us but to condemn us to a life of never ending torment. She foolishly believed she had trapped us all forever and thought only she herself would be able to set us free. But she did not take into account her descendants. I searched for hundreds of years for one of her line, and finally my search led me to Marguerite. Of course she believed all I told her! It was not difficult at all. Marguerite who has no past would have believed anything I told her. If she only knew why Morrighan had sent myself and the others careening through time, she would have hesitated to set us free. But of course, now I am free and able to do my duty as I should have done during the last storm!"

Roxton remembered that when Marguerite wanted to help those druids, his instincts were telling him something was wrong. Marguerite and Malone both wanted to help so he had no choice but to follow and keep an eye on them. In the end, the druids were free and no harm came out of it so he believed himself in the wrong. And of course, Bokra/Zoth did make them forget anything ever happened so he had no chance to ponder over the events. Which brought up another matter. "Now that I see where your true allegiances lie I just have one question left. If you really are Zoth, how were you trapped in the cave that we went to only months ago? If Marguerite truly set you and the rest of the druids free, you and your other friends shouldn't have been in the void to jump into our bodies."

"Humans! Your minds are so limited." Zoth sighed and shook his head. "I am no normal man. I am not even mortal and neither were any of the other druids you saw. The void you speak of is the same place where you encountered us as druids. If you will recall, I told you that we drifted in and out of existence. When we came out of the void was merely one of those times. What you need to understand is that time is not linear, Lord Roxton. What happens in this very moment and what happens in the void or any other reality do not go hand in hand. Marguerite may have freed us three years ago according to you, but that does not mean anything in the grand scheme of things. When we came out of the void and used your bodies as an escape, Marguerite had not yet freed us unfortunately. If it were not for Marguerite, I would not even be here today! It is mind boggling to you, I am sure, but then again, you are only human and matters like these were not meant for you to comprehend."

Roxton was not entirely sure he understood everything that was just explained to him but he understood enough. Things used to be so simple; everything had a beginning, middle, and an end. But since coming to this plateau, things changed, included his manner of thinking. Magic, time travel, myths becoming reality, there was no limit to what the plateau threw at him. If this was the same man that Finn described as destroying the future, then it was even more imperative for him to escape. It was true that Zoth had Challenger's plans to destroy the future, but Roxton realized that he had played a hand in helping him escape the prison that Morrighan had put him in. Challenger blamed himself for everything, but Roxton took everything onto his shoulders. It was Marguerite that freed them, but Roxton felt it was his fault for not trusting his instincts. Once Finn had killed the other two demons and chased Zoth back into the cave, things would have ended there. But since he had helped Marguerite set the druids free, Bokra escaped to be here today and had the chance to destroy the future.

Roxton raised his head and was prepared for what was to come. He knew the chances of escaping to warn Marguerite and the others were slim. But he had faith in his friends. He wasn't afraid of dying. He knew that one day his time would come and if it happened to be now, then he would accept it. But he promised himself that he would do everything and anything in his power to make sure that he took these bastards down with him. "Well, thank you for letting me know all I need. You both may be arrogant enough to think you will succeed in your plot, and maybe in the end you will, I don't know. But I have faith. Faith in love, faith in friendship, and faith in the overall goodness and spirit of people. I know that even if you succeed in what you are planning, you won't win in the end. Because people like you will always get what's coming to you. Whether it be by my hands or someone else, I promise you will get what is due to you. It's called Karma, I picked it up on my travels through the East. Fascinating concept and one I am inclined to believe in."

Dren scoffed. "How touching. You can believe whatever you are inclined to Lord Roxton, but that won't change the circumstances. I am tired of listening to your ignorant blather. Take him away!" He shouted.

Roxton looked to his right and expected guards to come through the doors but they didn't. Instead he saw two men literally step out of the shadows and walk over to where he was seated. Roxton's jaw dropped in amazement. "How…?"

Dren put a hand on the table and leaned closer to Roxton. "You didn't really believe the Protectors had all the power did you? Where is your confidence in the universe now?"

Dren cast Roxton a final look of triumph as the guards took him back to his cell. This time two guards would be left on duty to make sure he did not escape. Things were coming to a head and mistakes could not be afforded. Dren turned to Zoth. "It is time."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Challenger, Malone, and Finn followed the Avatar warrior who guided them to the alleyway where Marguerite and Roxton had been attacked. When they reached their destination, the warrior bowed and headed back to his post at the palace. The three friends split up and looked around hoping to find any clues that might help them find out where Roxton had been taken.

They found countless boot prints but weren't able to make any sense of them. Between the dozen or so attackers and the avatar warriors that came through, it was an indecipherable mess.

"Hey, look!"

Challenger and Malone looked up from the tracks towards Finn. She was holding Roxton's familiar hat in her hands. Challenger walked forward and took the hat in his hands. "The old boy will be happy to know we found his hat in perfect condition, I only hope we find him in the same state as well." He heaved a sigh and passed the hat to Malone who had come to stand at his side.

As Malone took the offered hat, he found himself feeling a way he hadn't expected he would ever feel again in his lifetime. He found himself floating over a clearing but he could tell by the way the trees were whizzing by that he was moving at a great speed. He recognized the landscape that they had all passed on their way to Avalon but as he moved farther out, he found himself looking around to make sure he remembered every detail. He realized that as he grew closer to a set of hills that he was slowing in his approach. He saw a large stone structure that seemed to have been embedded into the side of a mountain. His body was heading for it but he saw that while he was slowing, he wouldn't be able to stop before he slammed into the outer wall of the stone complex. He closed his eyes as he prepared for impact and found himself being heartily shaken. He opened his eyes and found himself flat on his back in the alleyway with Finn and Challenger hovering over him. He tried to get up when Challenger reached out and lightly pushed him back.

"Steady, Malone. Just take it easy."

Malone was confused for a bit. "What happened?"

Finn raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't remember? Challenger gave you Roxton's hat and then all of a sudden your eyes rolled back in your head. Challenger barely had a second to catch you before you toppled over. You were dead to the world until we pried Roxton's hat out of your vice grip."

Challenger understood what was happening more than Finn did. After Malone had collapsed, Challenger quickly remembered the symptoms after this happened the last time. Only back then, when Malone had touched the Ripper's knife he had never lost consciousness. He rationalized the loss of consciousness as the power growing stronger over time. "What did you see, Malone?"

It took a moment for Malone to get reoriented and then he quickly remembered what he had seen. "I think I know where Roxton is."

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone and thanks for reading along! There are only 4 more chapters left including the conclusion. The updates will be coming pretty quickly this week as I plan to have the final chapter up some time before the beginning of next week, so check back often! If you have any questions feel free to ask and as always feedback is appreciated!  
_


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

"What? Well where is he? Let's go!" Finn eagerly shouted.

Malone slowly pulled himself off of the ground and was surprised he didn't feel as sick as he had the last time he had visions. He remembered what Challenger had told him months ago. Maybe all he had to do was learn to master the power to make it easier. But after months had went by and he had had no more visions, Malone believed his prior visions were a fluke related to the strong past of the knife. Now it seemed that the powers were linked to himself.

"It's not that simple, Finn. It'll take a couple of hours to get there. I can find my way there, but getting in won't be easy. You need to go back to the palace and get Veronica and her mother to allow you to bring some warriors with you. Challenger and I will leave a trail for you to follow. You shouldn't be too far behind us. When we get there we'll assess the situation and hopefully we'll have a plan by the time you get there with reinforcements."

Finn didn't look happy at being forced to stay behind but with a nod from Challenger she accepted it. She picked up Roxton's hat and dusted it off. "Might as well give some hope to Marguerite. I'll follow after you guys as quick as I can. Good luck!" With that, Finn turned and sprinted back towards the palace.

Challenger and Malone picked up their things and made their way to the gates of the city. Once they left Avalon, Challenger turned to Malone.

"Which way?"

Malone turned to the south and pointed towards the tree line. "There's a group of mountains beyond the trees. We have to head in that direction. Hopefully since I know which way I'm going it won't take us too long to get there. I just hope we won't get there too late."

Challenger didn't comment but nodded his head gravely. They both shouldered their packs and headed into the jungle.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Summerlee and Veronica had finished bandaging Marguerite's head and had tried in vain to convince her to take a nap. The three of them, along with Abigail, had made their way to the same room where they had been greeted by Summerlee only the day before. So much had happened since then that it seemed like ages ago.

Veronica sat nearby Abigail, the joy at finding her mother awake and in better health subdued by the melancholy atmosphere of the recent turn of events. Summerlee had placed himself by Marguerite with the excuse of checking on her head wound every once in a while, but in reality he was worried about her. After the others had left, Marguerite had withdrawn into herself and had scarcely uttered a few words to anyone.

The truth was she was beside herself with worry. At first she was angry and cursed everything that she could think of: her injury that prevented her from being out there searching for Roxton herself, the men who took Roxton, and even her own lineage. If she hadn't been the damn chosen one Roxton never would have been taken. Marguerite had always wanted to find out who she was but the price was not acceptable. She couldn't lose him.

She trusted her friends to find Roxton, but she would have felt better if she was doing something herself. She wasn't used to sitting aside and depending on other people. She knew there was nothing she could do at the moment so she forced herself to sit quiet and not pace in circles with worry.

"Marguerite! Marguerite! Where are you?"

Marguerite and the others were startled by the shouting but recognized it was Finn's voice. Marguerite fearing the worst barely managed to shout out to Finn so she could know where they all were. As Marguerite heard Finn's rushed footsteps approaching she sent out nearly a dozen prayers hoping it wasn't bad news.

"Marguerite! Thank God!" Finn ran up to Marguerite and stopped to catch her breath.

Abigail saw how anxious Marguerite was and Finn's entrance wasn't helping matters. "Finn, please."

Finn looked at Marguerite and noticed the signs of distress on her face which usually would not be shown so easily. The past few days were emotional ones and they had clearly taken their toll on Marguerite. Finn handed Roxton's hat to Marguerite. "Here, we found this in the alley where you were attacked. When Malone touched it he had some sort of vision or something, I don't know. They didn't really explain it to me. Anyways, Malone thinks he knows where Roxton is so he and Challenger left already. I'm here to get some help and go after them."

Marguerite held Roxton's hat close to her chest and hung on to the small hope she had just been given. "Is Malone positive he can find him, Finn?"

"He looked pretty damn sure to me. He's going to lay a trail for me to follow and as soon as I get some Avatar warriors I can be off." Finn looked over at Abigail who was already moving to one of the guards stationed in the hall.

Abigail returned in a few moments. "I have sent for thirty guards to accompany you. They will be waiting for you by the gates to the city by the time you reach them. I would usually send at least a hundred but in this time I cannot risk leaving the city unprotected. I have many people to think of that dwell in the city." Abigail was speaking to Finn but Marguerite knew the words were intended for her. She nodded to herself as she understood the logic behind the words.

They all turned and took a step towards the doors that led out of the palace intending on escorting Finn to the outer gates, when an Avatar warrior rushed to Abigail. "My Lady, it is not safe to leave these walls. The Dark Ones have made it into the city and are marching towards the palace!" The warrior quickly herded the entire party away from the exits and windows and deeper within the palace.

"But Malone and Challenger! They're counting on me to bring back up!" Finn turned to rush back out into the city but the Avatar reached out and stopped her.

"That would not be wise, miss. Fighting has already broken out in the streets. The Dark Ones most likely have already taken control of the outer perimeter of the city. You would not make it out alive."

"Let go of me! I'm not sending two of my friends into danger when they're expecting help! I'll go by myself if I have to!"

Abigail and the others stopped running when they saw Finn arguing with the Avatar warrior whose job it was to protect the group until reinforcements arrived. Just as the others moved to approach Finn, it seemed as if there was a massive earthquake as the earth trembled violently. They swayed on their feet and tried to keep their balance. Abigail would have taken a nasty fall if Veronica had not been by her side to keep her upright. After a few moments, the shaking stopped and everyone let go of each other and the walls they were holding on to.

"What in the hell was that?" Marguerite shouted.

"A sign." Abigail stepped forward and took Veronica and Marguerite's hands. "It is a sign of what is coming. The storm is already approaching. Both of you must be prepared."

Veronica remembered the ferocity of the last storm and was worried about what they all would be facing. "What is going to happen to us, mother?"

Abigail looked at her daughter and smiled sadly. "I do not know, dear heart. All I can say for sure is that this is where we are all meant to be. Fulfill your destinies my dears and follow your hearts. Do what you know is right. Hopefully it will all turn out well in the end." Abigail squeezed both of their hands and smiled as they both nodded at her words.

"Excuse me for interrupting such a touching moment, but I could not resist my surprise. Abigail you are back on your feet!"

All eyes turned to two men at the end of the hall both similarly dressed in black. The younger man was in front while the older one stood behind with his hands calmly clasped behind his back.

"Dren! How dare you show your face here?" Abigail had realized that an attack would have happened sooner or later. While the Dark Ones, as they were called in the city, had the ability to travel using darkness and shadows to their advantage, Avalon had been built on the most powerful source of energy on the plateau. It was only in times like these, times when there was a lull in power as the plateau prepared to explode in either life or destruction that Avalon was at its weakest.

The Avatar warrior, immediately recognizing the two men as a threat, drew his two curved swords and came to stand in front of Veronica and Abigail. Finn meanwhile had drawn her crossbow and had also targeted Dren all ignoring the man accompanying him for the moment.

Marguerite had taken her pistol of her holster and had it aimed at Dren's chest. "Tell me where Roxton is right now and I might not shoot you."

Dren smiled and did not seem to be alarmed at having a gun pointed at him. "Such spirit! Come now, put the gun away. We both know that if you kill me you will never find him so let us drop the pretenses shall we?"

Marguerite pulled the hammer back on her pistol and looked more determined. "I didn't say anything about killing you. I said I wouldn't shoot you. There are quite a few places I could do damage that would still keep you alive. Now, where is Roxton?"

Dren lost the smug smirk on his face and frowned. He didn't expect Marguerite to act in this manner. Clearly Roxton's statements about her being strong were accurate. He took a moment to contemplate his next move.

"You!" In that short instant Finn moved her crossbow away from Dren to the other man who had moved from behind Dren to stand at his side. "You've got a lot of guts showing your butt ugly face here bucko! This time I'm going to kill you and you're not going to be able to run away like the coward you are!"

"Who is it, Finn?" Veronica had pulled out the two knives she had sheathed behind her back and came to stand beside the Avatar warrior. She made sure that both Summerlee and her mother were well out of the way and could still escape if a fight broke out.

"It's Zoth, Vee! It's the scum that destroyed my world!"

Marguerite and Veronica both looked shocked. Marguerite kept her gun leveled at Dren while taking a closer look at the man she felt she knew from somewhere. "That's Zoth? Are you sure? He looks familiar to me."

Zoth stepped forward with his hands raised and nodded. "Indeed that is who I am. I sense however, that Marguerite recognized me just as Lord Roxton had. Do you not remember me, Marguerite? The last time we met, I had longer hair and was dressed as a druid. You freed me and my brethren from a life of endless wandering."

Marguerite indeed remembered. She recalled sharing with Roxton a similar dream several months ago. "I thought it was a dream."

Veronica watched the exchange with confusion. Somehow both Marguerite and Roxton knew this man and she heard talk of druids. Why hadn't she heard of this before? "What's he talking about, Marguerite?"

"Roxton, Malone, and myself helped free some druids who were stuck in time. They said I was the reincarnation of Morrighan, their high priestess. But up until a while ago I had forgotten it had all happened."

Zoth nodded. "As you will probably have learned by now, you are not the reincarnation of Morrighan but one of her descendants. Forgive me for deceiving you, but it was necessary. Remember what I told you when we parted, your destiny would be revealed in time. I could not risk altering what was to come which is why I had to alter all of your memories. Now that the time has come, you must now follow your true destiny. Your heritage, your lineage, your destiny, it lies with us. Follow your true path, Marguerite."

"What about Roxton?"

Zoth turned back to Dren who nodded his head. "Join with us and you will be reunited with him. You can live out your destinies together."

Marguerite certainly wasn't stupid, she had been expecting this to happen since the moment Abigail warned her. She knew what she had to do. She could only hope she was doing the right thing. "Do I have your word on that?"

Zoth gave her a charming smile and bowed. "On my honor."

Finn watched the exchange in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Haven't you heard what I've been telling you since the minute I got here? This guy is gonna destroy the world! His honor isn't worth crap! I know you love Roxton, Marguerite, but don't be stupid!"

Marguerite glared at Finn. "I know what I'm doing, Finn. This is none of your business."

Finn's anger flared. She wasn't about to let Marguerite risk the world by letting Zoth walk out of here alive. "The hell it isn't!" Finn aimed her crossbow at Zoth and prepared to fire when Marguerite pointed her own gun at Finn. "What the hell are you doing, Marguerite?"

"Drop it, Finn. Don't make me shoot you."

Finn looked in disbelief at her friend. "Go ahead, Marguerite. I don't care if I die as long as I take him with me." Finn turned away from Marguerite but her crossbow was knocked out of her hand.

Abigail had quickly moved to intervene before bloodshed ensued. "Do not be foolish, Finn."

"Are you all out of your minds!"

Dren had watched the entire exchange with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan. Zoth had been able to use his charms and it looked like Marguerite would indeed join them. When he saw Marguerite turn her own gun on her friend, he was assured of his success. Very soon he would rule this plateau. When he saw Abigail step forward towards Finn, he saw the other part of his plan could finally be achieved. He slowly inched his sword from its scabbard at his side and waited for his moment to strike. The Avatar would have to be dealt with first. Now!

Dren attacked quickly with a quick stab to the abdomen of the warrior. The sword went in and out in an instant and did not even wait for the warrior to fall before he turned towards Abigail. By the time the others realized what had happened, it was too late. Dren had already grabbed Abigail and held the sword to her throat while using her body as a shield. "Now you will pay for what you have done to my father and my family!" Abigail struggled to get free but Dren had a tight hold on her. He hissed in her ear as he spoke. "I have dreamt of this moment for what seems like ages, but now my father will finally be avenged!"

Finn had made an attempt to stop Dren as she was closest to Abigail but was stopped by Zoth. She tried to get a shot at Dren with her crossbow but Zoth had used his sword and knocked it out of her hands. Now she was stuck without a weapon while her enemy had a sword pointed at her.

Marguerite tried to get a clear shot but Dren had succeeded in putting himself completely behind Abigail. "Let her go, Dren. No one has to die here."

"No one will prevent me from having satisfaction!"

Summerlee had been completely ignored throughout the past several minutes. They didn't perceive an old man as a threat and it gave him the opportunity to move freely. When the Avatar warrior had been run through by Dren, Summerlee had rushed over to see if he could administer any aid to save the young man's life. The wound had been too severe and Summerlee knew the young man would lose his life in moments. The warrior's breathing had become ragged and with his last breath he whispered to Summerlee. "Save the Protector." Summerlee nodded and eased the young man's head to the ground. Checking to make sure no eyes were on him, Summerlee quickly pocketed a small dagger that all the warriors wore at their waist.

He came within a few feet of Dren and saw Abigail continuing her struggle to get free. When she saw him approaching she gave him a questioning look. His eyes wandered down to his hand where Abigail saw the dagger concealed at his side. During the past few years, Abigail and Summerlee had grown to be very close friends and had grown to know and understand each other very well. With a glance at his face, she understood what he was planning to do. He hesitated only to ask her permission. She nodded her head and waited.

"You look like a sensible fellow, Dren," Summerlee said as he approached slowly even closer, "you must know that the moment you kill Abigail you will not live much longer yourself. Why not let her go?"

Dren laughed at Summerlee's words and lessened his grip on Abigail a fraction. He did not hold the knife at her throat anymore but shifted his hand down towards her abdomen. He didn't seem to mind that Summerlee had come to stand within an arms length of his right hand which held the knife that threatened Abigail's life. "What you speak is true old man. But I will not die. As we speak my people are taking the city and before long I will rule this plateau and no one will stand in my way!"

By now, Marguerite and the others had seen what Summerlee was doing and wisely did not interrupt. Hopefully he could get Abigail free. Finn of course was without a weapon, but the moment Summerlee acted it would be important for them to take care of Zoth. With an agility they wouldn't have known Summerlee to possess, the three women watched Summerlee brought the dagger up to Dren's right arm. The gash was deep and made him involuntarily loosen his hold. Abigail immediately broke free of his grasp. Dren cursed and lunged after her.

His stroke was wild but his sword was long and broad and it caught Abigail's side as she tried to run to Summerlee. She cried out and held onto her side but kept running towards her daughter. Summerlee had seen Abigail wounded but he couldn't help her at the moment. Dren had shifted his focus to him and he only had a small dagger to defend himself.

Zoth had been just as surprised when he saw Summerlee attack but before he could react, Marguerite already had her pistol pointed at him. Veronica had given Finn one of her extra knives and left them to keep an eye on him. She saw her mother running towards her and saw her clutching her side.

Veronica ran to her mother and caught her as she collapsed. "Mother! Are you all right?"

Abigail nodded her head as the earth shook again. Thunder sounded in the distance and they all could hear the wind picking up speed outside. Abigail pointed to the pendant around Veronica's neck. "It's time, Veronica. Do what must be done."

Veronica could feel the intense pain around her neck as she had felt the last time she had to wield the trion. She quickly ripped it off her neck and held it in the palm of her hand. She looked for Dren and saw that he was quickly approaching Summerlee with the very sword that he used to attack her mother. With one hand gripped tightly around the trion and the other around her knife, she gritted her teeth and ran towards Dren.

She moved to stand between Summerlee and Dren. "Summerlee, please go help my mother. She's hurt but I don't know how badly."

Summerlee nodded. "I'll take care of her, don't worry." He ran to Abigail leaving Veronica and Dren alone. Both hated each other and had a person to avenge. They held their weapons close and kept their eyes peeled for an opening to strike. The pain in Veronica's left hand was growing more and more intense but she blocked it out as she focused on Dren. He struck first with a blow that might have ended things quickly if Veronica didn't have quick reflexes. She avoided the blade of the sword and countered with the hand that held the trion. The punch seemed to transfer the energy that was building within the medallion to Dren as he felt a pain that he had never felt before. Slightly dazed, he didn't see the kick from Veronica that knocked the sword out of his hands.

Dren's anger was out of control now. He hadn't come this far to fail! The trion was within in his grasp and all he had to do was kill Veronica to accomplish all he had dreamed of. As Veronica prepared to strike with her knife, Dren used both hands and managed to disarm her, then he went for the medallion he knew was in her left hand. He could see the medallion glowing through her clenched fist as he felt the power radiating from it. The entire room was filled with it and he knew the time for his destiny had come. The storm was raging now and soon he would rule the plateau!

As both of them struggled, the trion became trapped between both of their hands and a bright light burst forth and it seemed as if the world exploded.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

The bright light that had emanated from the trion blinded everyone in the room but Veronica and Dren did not let go. It was as if their hands were glued together by the trion.

Zoth realized what was happening and made a dash for Dren and Veronica.

"Hey!" Finn quickly ran after him. Marguerite cursed and ran after her. If Finn hadn't rushed after him she would have had a clean shot. Finn was only a few steps behind Zoth and wished she had her crossbow. She had a knife but wasn't close enough to him to do much damage. She saw Zoth pick up Dren's fallen sword and start to move towards Veronica.

"Veronica! Look out!"

But Veronica didn't hear her. She was still joined with Dren and was oblivious to everything that was going on around her. Finn had closed much of the distance between them while Zoth had bent down to the pick up the sword but not enough. There was only one thing left she could do.

She didn't even feel the sword enter her abdomen. Her body was pumped full of adrenalin but she knew it had happened. She knew she wouldn't be able to stick around long enough to help Veronica, but she knew Marguerite would take care of the rest. For now, she would make sure that Zoth wouldn't destroy the future even if she couldn't live to enjoy it herself.

As Zoth pulled out the sword with a smug look on his face, Finn involuntarily gasped. She smiled as she plunged the knife Veronica had given her earlier into Zoth. "That's for my family, my friends, and my world. Now you'll never live to destroy anything."

"Finn!" Marguerite watched in horror as both Zoth and Finn's bodies hit the floor. Marguerite quickly ran to Finn's side and tried to stop the bleeding.

Finn coughed and could feel the intense pain now but didn't seem to mind it. "Don't bother, Marguerite. I don't know how this time travel stuff works, but if this is the end of my life, then I'm happy. You were all the family that I was denied and I loved every minute of it. Take care of Vee for me." Finn sighed and closed her eyes.

Marguerite gently laid Finn's head on the floor and stood up. Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the tears that had fallen. She had already lost one friend that day. She wasn't going to lose anymore. Marguerite knew what she had to do.

XOXOXOXOXO

Challenger and Malone had made excellent time in reaching the stone fortress. Malone was indeed surprised that the journey was not nearly as long as he expected it to be. He had found little difficulty in navigating the way and had arrived at their destination within an hour. They had left a trail for Finn to follow, but had not slowed down their entire journey. Arriving completely spent, Challenger and Malone took their first break only when they finally reached the fortress. They recuperated while waiting for Finn to arrive with reinforcements.

They took the time to survey their surroundings and come up with a plan. The complex was large and they did not even know for sure that Roxton was being held inside. Challenger sat silently beginning to formulate a plan when Malone quietly made his way to him and crouched down beside him.

"Say Challenger," Malone whispered, "don't you find the place to be a little quiet? I haven't seen or heard a single person nearby, not even a guard on duty. I haven't even seen any lights in the windows. Maybe the place is abandoned?"

Challenger nodded for he had noticed the same things, but he was not as inclined to believe the building was abandoned. Challenger suspected that if Roxton was in fact being held captive in this building, then the reason they had not seen anyone was because a rescue was expected and a trap had already been laid. The most prudent thing to do would be to wait for Finn and the Avatars. "Maybe it is abandoned, but maybe it is not. I believe we should wait for Finn to arrive before we take any action."

Malone shook his head. "I don't think we can wait any longer, Challenger, she should have been here by now. It shouldn't have taken her more than half an hour to set off after us and we've been waiting for almost twice that. Maybe she ran into trouble along the way or maybe she wasn't able to come after us, either way I think we're on our own. We have to go after Roxton ourselves."

Challenger considered Malone's words and had to cede to the logic he found in them. His own instincts kept telling him that there was something wrong with this situation but it didn't change matters, they had to go after Roxton alone. "Very well, Malone. Here's what we'll do. I will go ahead myself and if there is a trap and I am captured, at least one of us will still be free to continue. Also if I am to be captured, you will able to follow and see where I am taken. Hopefully it will be nearby Roxton and it will save us time searching the entire complex."

Malone nodded. "All right, Challenger. But I'll only give you a five minute head start and if the place is deserted I will be right behind you."

"Very well." Challenger reached out his hand and shook Malone's hand. "Godspeed my friend."

Malone crouched in the foliage and watched Challenger slowly make his way towards the outer gates of the fortress. The gates were wide open and Challenger hesitated briefly before passing through inside. Malone listened for any sounds of a struggle and was relieved to find none. Malone slowly made his way through the trees in a wide arc closer to the fortress. Malone had waited his five minutes and now it was his turn to enter.

Malone reached the front gates and found there were no guards and couldn't hear any footsteps in the immediate area. Feeling safe to continue, he chose a passage on his left and headed towards the door at the end of the hall. As his hand reached for the door, he found himself thrown suddenly off balance and on the ground. Malone managed to pull himself to his knees and hold onto the walls for support. The ground was shaking violently and Malone could feel the stones in the walls moving beneath his fingers. He only hoped the building didn't collapse in the quake. After a few moments, the shaking stopped and Malone slowly returned to his feet. He opened the door and quietly closed it behind him. Suddenly he felt an arm reach out and grab him and another clamped around his mouth.

"Shh Malone, it is only me!" Challenger whispered in Malone's ear. Malone nodded and Challenger released his hold on him.

"For God's sake, Challenger try a better way to get my attention next time, I nearly had a heart attack!"

Challenger waved a hand at him. "Never mind that. I've found Roxton. Follow me."

Malone couldn't help but showing his disbelief. "You've found him already? How?"

"Just follow me and you'll see."

Challenger led the way through the passage which led into a great hall and then into another long hall. Challenger held his fingers to his lips and pushed Malone against the wall. Challenger peered around the corner and then resumed his position against the wall beside Malone. "Down at the end of this hall," Challenger whispered, "there are two men on guard. Now, both of us have seen that the entire place is deserted yet these two men are guarding something of great value. That must be where they are keeping Roxton."

Malone switched places with Challenger and peered around the corner himself. It was just as Challenger said. Two men dressed in black at the end of the hallway. Malone turned back to Challenger. "So what's the plan?"

"Follow my lead." Challenger stepped from behind the corner and walked down the hallway towards the guards.

"Challenger!" Malone hissed but he was ignored.

"Excuse me, my dear fellows, do either of you have the time?"

The two men immediately left their post and charged Challenger. Using his rifle as a shield against the swords of the guards', Challenger punched the nearby guard in the face. Malone seeing the two guards charge Challenger, immediately stepped forward and drew his pistol. He aimed the gun at the second guard who was about to attack Challenger from behind. "Drop it!" The guard reluctantly dropped his sword and Malone made him kick it towards him. As soon as he had, Malone knocked the guard out with the butt of his pistol and leaned him against the wall. Malone looked over towards Challenger to see how he was fairing. Challenger had already disarmed the guard and they were now in a fist fight. Challenger was tiring and Malone saw he had to act when the guard had forced Challenger to the ground. Malone picked up a fallen sword and from behind had held it to the man's throat. "Don't move unless you want to cut yourself. This sword looks sharp."

Malone kept the sword on the guard and used his other hand to help Challenger to his feet.

"Thank you, Malone."

"I've got this one, Challenger. I think I saw some keys on the other one. We can lock these guys up in one of the rooms and then get Roxton out and be on our way."

Challenger saw the second guard slumped unconscious against the wall and had no trouble finding the keys Malone referred to. Finding the key that went to the nearest room, they threw both men in and locked the door behind them.

Challenger and Malone then made their way to the last door at the end of the hall. There wasn't an opening for them to peer inside so they called out instead. "Roxton! Roxton, can you hear us!" Malone pounded on the door and thought he could hear movement inside.

"Malone? Is that you?"

Malone smiled in relief. "Yes, Roxton! Challenger is here with me, we've come to get you out of here, hang on!"

Challenger found the key that fit into the lock in a few moments and opened the door. Roxton slowly stepped out of the room and clasped both of the men's hands in thanks. "You are both a sight for sore eyes!"

In the light of the hall, Challenger and Malone could see that Roxton had been badly beaten. "Good gracious! Are you all right, John?"

Roxton nodded. "Nothing Marguerite can't fix. Tell me, is she all right?"

Malone patted Roxton on the back. "She's all right, Roxton. She only has a slight bump on the head and was ready to go looking for you but we convinced her to stay."

Roxton nodded. "It's a right good thing you all did, Ned. This fiend is after Marguerite as well as Veronica and Abigail. We have to get back to Avalon and warn them! They have already left! We haven't a moment to lose!"

"Good heavens!" Challenger exclaimed.

"No wonder the place is deserted. They must have taken every single man with them to Avalon!" Malone looked to Roxton. "Do you have any idea how many they have with them?"

Roxton shook his head. "No, but they have some dark magic on their side. I saw two men literally walk out of the darkness where there was nothing but a wall there!"

"Magic? Rubbish! I tell all of you, there is no such—"

"Challenger, not now. We have to get back to Avalon!" Roxton set off down the hall with Malone and Challenger only a few steps behind. He made his way into the hall and passed through the doors he had failed twice to get through before and then stopped. From here he had no idea which way to go so he followed behind Challenger and Malone. Once again the ground shook with a renewed fierceness and this time it was joined by thunder and lightning. The sounds of violent winds could be heard through the walls of the fortress.

"What is happening?" Malone shouted over the sound of the storm.

"It sounds like a bad storm is raging outside! We can't risk traveling through it! We'll have to wait for it to die down before we can start back!" Challenger held on to the walls when finally the shaking stopped but the storm continued to rage on outside.

"We can't wait! Marguerite and the others need to be warned! I won't sit here and wait!" Roxton moved forward only to be stopped by Malone.

"Out of my way, Ned!"

"Listen to him, Roxton. I want to help Veronica and the others as much as you do, but we can't do anything now. Chances are they've already reached Avalon. All we can do is hope that they're all right. When we get a chance we'll leave and get there as quick as we can. But there's no way I can lead us back to Avalon in that storm and you know it. We have to wait."

Roxton sighed in defeat and nodded. Challenger and Malone led him into the great hall he knew very well from his brief stay at the fortress. Roxton watched his friends sit, but he could not. He paced and did all he could do at the moment. Hope.

_Be safe, Marguerite. Be safe all of you._


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

Marguerite left her pistol on the floor, she had no need for it anymore. She stood by Veronica and saw that she didn't even acknowledge her presence. Veronica's gaze was locked on Dren where they were still joined by the trion. Marguerite looked at Veronica's face and could see the fierce resolve that she always admired in her. She could also see the strain of the battle in her face but she knew that Veronica would never let go. Marguerite put a hand to Veronica's cheek and brushed aside her hair. "Dear Veronica. Have strength."

Marguerite remembered the dreams that had plagued her for weeks. The last sight she always saw in the nightmares was Veronica's face, but now she knew it was only the face of a past Protector. This time, Marguerite did not recoil. With one final look at Veronica, Marguerite removed her hand and placed it over the two joined hands and the trion. As her hand touched the metal of the medallion, she felt a powerful energy coursing throughout her entire body.

Her body was still in the room connected to two others in battle. Her soul, however, had traveled to another place entirely. There was nothing but blackness in the distance. The only thing that existed in this place was a bright light in the center of the darkness. The light cast no shadows and illuminated nothing. It simply existed. To Marguerite it seemed as the light was largest at its base and ascended upwards to a single point infinitely far away. _A pyramid of light,_ Marguerite thought. As she felt herself drawn towards it, she could see Veronica and she could also see Dren. Both were on opposite sides of the pyramid, Veronica inside the pyramid and Dren outside. Both were pushing against the light, both for different reasons: one to preserve it, one to topple it.

"Veronica!"

Veronica cast a glance in Marguerite's direction but quickly returned her focus to the task at hand. "What are you doing here, Marguerite?"

"I'm here to help you, Veronica!" Marguerite ran towards Veronica and was standing on Dren's right staring at Veronica through the light.

"You!" Dren shouted through his gritted teeth. "Remember what you have been told. Side with me and live your life with Roxton, or else he dies!"

Marguerite looked at Veronica and could see her straining against the sides of the light as it was pushed against her. Marguerite looked back at Dren and nodded. "I remember and I've already made my decision." Marguerite put her hands against the light and it seemed for a moment to Dren as if he had succeeded. It looked as if Marguerite was helping him topple the light, but he was dearly mistaken. Marguerite passed right through the barrier and joined Veronica on the inside.

As soon as Marguerite joined her, Veronica felt the burden on her own shoulders immediately lessen. "Thank you, Marguerite."

"There's no place I would rather be, Veronica." Marguerite and Veronica stood side by side within the light. Marguerite reached for Veronica's hand and held it tight. They closed their eyes and placed their free hands against the sides of the light.

Within a few moments, through the strength of the two women, the pyramid of light expanded. Every second it grew larger and more powerful and very soon Dren could take it no longer. His strength gave out and he was lost in the light. The light continued to expand exponentially until there was no more darkness and nothing but light.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Arthur…"

"Ssh, Abigail, try not to talk. Reserve your strength." After Veronica had told him to check on her mother, he hadn't left her side. Summerlee had checked her wound and saw it was more serious than he thought. The gash was deep and Abigail had already lost a lot of blood. Abigail had faded in and out of consciousness a few times giving Summerlee a few scares. He had put pressure on the wound and bandaged it as well as he could, but he could only hope to get her to the healer soon.

"It will be over soon, Arthur." Abigail looked over and saw that Veronica and Marguerite were both still joined with Dren. They had all been joined for several hours, but she knew the end of the storm was coming soon and she had confidence in them. Both would preserve the future, it was their destinies.

Summerlee followed Abigail's eyes and looked upon Veronica and Marguerite. At that moment he saw one final light burst from the trion and then all three bodies fall limply to the ground. He looked down at Abigail but she nodded her head towards them. Summerlee gently laid Abigail's head on the ground and walked hurriedly towards them.

He passed by Finn who he already knew was dead and cast a mournful look in her direction. He checked on Veronica first as she was the closest. Her pulse was strong and steady but she was unconscious. He checked on Marguerite and found the same was true of her. He checked on Dren and found that he was not unconscious but dead. And lying there between the three bodies, the trion lay on the ground alone.

XOXOXOXOXO

Roxton had grown tired of pacing and had taken a seat at the table with Challenger and Malone. They had waited for several hours and the storm had not yet died down. All three were silent and hadn't spoken a word to each other. All were worried and found they had nothing to say.

Suddenly a bright light flooded the room and all three men were temporarily blinded.

"Bloody hell!" Roxton exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Lightning perhaps?" Malone suggested.

Challenger shook his head. "I highly doubt it, Malone. But whatever it may be, that is no concern to us at the moment. The storm is over and we can be off."

"Yes, let's hurry! I fear we have waited too long already!" Roxton quickly led the way through the hallways and out the gates of the fortress. Malone took point and led them all back to Avalon not knowing what lay ahead of them.


	28. Conclusion

CONCLUSION

Soon after the storm was over, the Avatars had succeeded in defending their city. Many had died that day, but Avalon still stood in the wake of the battle. Those of the Dark Ones that had not perished fighting fled the city. The Avatars immediately secured the palace and word quickly spread through the city that the leader of the Dark Ones was dead.

The healer had been sent for and all three women were taken to their quarters. As it seemed that Veronica and Marguerite were simply in a deep sleep, the healer focused his energies on Abigail. She had grown very pale and weak but she had not lost consciousness. The healer knew that she had lost too much blood and her body was already too fragile. There was nothing that could be done for her but to make her comfortable.

Summerlee had sat vigil at her bedside and could see that Abigail was clinging to life, not yet ready to leave. She had left word with the healer that the moment Veronica and Marguerite awoke that they should be brought in to see her immediately.

"Arthur," Abigail reached out her hand to Summerlee who grasped it tenderly. "My dear friend, it seems as if our journey together has come to an end."

Summerlee nodded tearfully. "Yes, Abigail. It was an honor to have known you and to call you my friend. Thank you for everything."

Abigail smiled. "Do not thank me, Arthur. My motives were entirely selfish. You helped my daughter and I to be reunited and for that I thank you. And now I have one final favor to ask you."

Arthur nodded. "Anything."

"Promise me, Arthur, to look after Veronica. She looks up to you and I know you will guide her since I will not be here to fulfill my duties as a mother ought."

Summerlee nodded his head and squeezed Abigail's hand. "I promise."

"Thank you, Arthur."

They sat in silence for a while but neither knew quite how long. There was a knock at the door and after Abigail bid them to enter, Marguerite and Veronica both appeared.

Abigail raised her arm and bid them both to come join her. Summerlee excused himself and left the three women alone. "Marguerite, Veronica, you have both succeeded where I hoped you would and I am so proud of you both." She took hold of each of their hands and made them come closer.

"Marguerite, I know you continue to search for answers and I am only sorry that I cannot provide them all for you. But I will tell you all that I know in hope to make up for the debt I owe you."

Marguerite shared a look with Veronica and looked back at Abigail. "But what could you possibly owe me?"

"Marguerite, I spoke to you earlier that the life you led was not the life that was meant for you. In the end, you found yourself on the path you were meant to be on, but your journey was meant to an easier one than the one you have had. You are the Chosen One, and as I told you earlier, Mordren's line would stop at nothing to rule this world. When you were born, they saw it as their chance to insure their victory in the upcoming battle. They abducted you as a small child from your parents in Avebury."

Marguerite and Veronica were both shocked. "Avebury?" Marguerite shook her head. "But Roxton is from Avebury."

Abigail nodded her head. "My dear, Marguerite. Roxton is your knight, your protector, your soul mate, your equal. He has always been destined to walk this life at your side. And though you were separated, you have found each other again."

Marguerite couldn't get over her shock. Her and Roxton were always meant to be together? She remembered telling Roxton how she used to play in Avebury and he commented that maybe they might have met as children and not even known it. It turns out that they had, but not as children. She had recently discovered that it was Roxton that sacrificed himself so she could keep her identity as Parsifal secret and help the British win the war. It turns out that even though they did not know each other, he was still always protecting her. It boggled Marguerite's mind to think of the life she could have had with her real parents and Roxton had she not had been abducted.

"Abigail, what about my parents, do you know who they are? Are they still alive?"

Abigail solemnly shook her head. "I am sorry, Marguerite, this is one of your questions I cannot answer. When you were abducted, word was sent to my mother who was Protector at the time. She could not leave the plateau so I went to Europe in search of you. Your name was not revealed to me because there was no reason for me to know it. Once you were abducted I knew that the only way I could distinguish you apart from any others was your birth mark, the mark of the line of the Chosen One. I looked all over the world for months, but I had no success. Wherever they had hidden you, they had taken great care that I could never find you. There was only one thing left for me to do. Your fate was an important one so I did all that I could to insure that you would be brought to the plateau at the proper time and could only hope you would not be corrupted by Mordren or his people."

"What did you do, mother?"

Abigail sighed and continued. "I had to do something to insure not only Marguerite, but everyone needed made their way to the plateau. So I did the only thing that that could be done. I knew that Xan possessed half of the Ouroboros so I made him aware of the fact that the second half of the medallion was somewhere on the plateau."

"And Xan told Maple White about the plateau who we know found it and died telling Challenger his secret…" Marguerite thought out loud.

Veronica's eyes were wide in amazement. "Is that why Xan's symbol was in yours and father's journal?"

"Yes," Abigail nodded. "I had met your father during my search for Marguerite and we had fallen in love and married. He had helped me search for Marguerite, but soon we were out of options. Shortly after telling Xan about the Ouroboros, I found out we were both going to be parents. We were both so happy, Veronica. Thomas vowed that he would return to the plateau with me and never leave. We arranged an expedition and returned." Abigail looked from her daughter back to Marguerite. "I am sorry, Marguerite that I did not find you. It is my fault that you lived the troubled life you had. I should have found you."

Marguerite squeezed Abigail's hand and shook her head. "It wasn't your fault, Abigail. You tried your best and you let me know that I wasn't abandoned, that I had parents who would have loved me, and for that I'm grateful to you. But Abigail, there's only one more question I have. How did Xan get a hold of my birth certificate? He promised me if I found the other half of the Ouroboros he would give it to me."

Abigail pondered the question quietly for a moment. "There's only one possible explanation I can think of. Mordren and his people were the only ones who knew who you were and where you came from. If I learned that Xan had half of the Ouroboros, chances are he learned it as well. He probably used your birth certificate as a bargaining chip knowing that if you had the other half he would be able to return to the plateau."

"But why?" Veronica asked. "Why would Xan take Marguerite's birth certificate? Why wouldn't Mordren just come to the plateau and look for the other half himself?"

"Because, my dear, I had banished Mordren under penalty of death. He could not return. Besides, he knew Marguerite belonged on the plateau as he knew her destiny. By providing Xan with her birth certificate, he had the same aims as I did. He wanted Marguerite here, but while he was at it, he also hoped she would restore the Ouroboros and he could use it to return to the plateau."

Marguerite slowly tried to absorb all that she had learned about her past in a few minutes. So many people had shaped her life without her even knowing their influences. And now, after learning so much, she was still no closer to finding out her name. Xan had most assuredly burned her birth certificate and Mordren was dead.

Abigail watched Marguerite's expressions and only wished she could have helped her more. She squeezed Marguerite's hand and her eyes turned upwards to meet hers. "I am sorry that I could not help you more, my dear. But I have faith one day you will find the answers you are looking for. For now, live your life and know you are now on the right path."

Marguerite nodded and smiled. "You gave me more than I could have hoped to know on my own and for that I'll forever be grateful." She leaned down and gave Abigail a gentle hug and a small kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for everything, Abigail and it was a pleasure to have known you."

Abigail smiled and released her hand. "Take care of yourself, Marguerite. And I have one final word of advice for you, my dear."

"What's that?"

"Roxton. He is a part of your destiny as well. Embrace it, don't run from what you know is true in your heart."

Marguerite didn't respond but nodded. She placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'll be right outside if you need me, Veronica."

Veronica reached up with her hand and squeezed Marguerite's hand. "Thank you." Marguerite nodded and silently slipped out of the room.

Abigail held up her arms. "Come here, my dear."

Veronica threw herself into her mother's arms and felt no different than she had when she was a child. She could always find comfort in the embrace of her mother. Abigail let her daughter cry on her shoulder and ran her hands through her hair.

"Veronica, my dear, I know it is not fair to ask you for anything for you have had to live without a great deal. You are the Protector now. In my absence, turn to Arthur for he has learned much of our ways in the years he has resided in Avalon. You and Marguerite successfully guided the plateau into the new cycle of creation. Both of your duties are complete. Your friends are now free to leave the plateau if they wish it. But be strong Veronica, for if they do decide to leave, know that they are not abandoning you. You do not have to be alone if you do not wish it. I see you have denied yourself a great many things, but do not deny yourself happiness. A mother only wishes for her child to be happy. The only thing I ask of you dear heart, is to be happy and be strong. Your father loved you, just as I do, and we always will. This you know in your heart. If Thomas were here, I know he would be proud of the beautiful, strong woman you have become."

Veronica pulled out of her mother's embrace and looked into her eyes. "I wish I had more time with you, mother. I love you so much. I don't know what I'll do without you."

Abigail reached up her hand and brushed the tears from her daughter's face. "Have courage, dear one. For you are not alone, you are surrounded by friends who love you dearly. I may be leaving you now, but your father and I will always be watching over you and one day we will be reunited again. Live life, Veronica, be happy and look towards the future now and not the past. I love you my precious daughter." Abigail placed her hands on Veronica's face and brought it closer to her own. She placed a kiss on her forehead and embraced her one last time. "Remember," Abigail whispered in her ear, "to trust in your heart always for it will not lead you astray."

Veronica helped her mother lie back down but saw her eyes had closed and she knew they wouldn't open again. After leaning down and placing one final kiss on her mother's forehead, Veronica cried to herself with a pain she could only hope time would help heal.

XOXOXOXOXO

Marguerite had sat outside with Arthur quietly thinking of all she had learned recently. She knew she had parents out there that had loved her once, and she had hope that one day she would find them or at least find out who they were. For now, it was not a priority. This new knowledge about Roxton frightened her at first but now she realized she was happy. She had known for a long time she had loved Roxton, but when they had first met she knew she had felt something between them. It seemed fate had always had a plan in mind for them and Marguerite could only wonder what laid ahead in their future. The only thing she knew for sure was that she would look forward to that future.

Challenger and Malone still had not returned and Marguerite could only hope that they hadn't died trying to rescue Roxton. They had already lost Finn and now they were losing Abigail. Marguerite's strength had been tested several times in the past few weeks and she didn't know how much more she could take. She kept sending up silent prayers hoping for the safe return of all her friends and it seemed that someone had indeed been looking over this group of friends.

The minute she heard his voice shouting her name through the palace like a madman, Marguerite thanked whoever had heard her prayers. Marguerite and Summerlee both jumped out of their chairs and saw not only Roxton, but Challenger and Malone running down the hallway towards them.

At Roxton seeing Marguerite alive, safe and sound, he could not contain his joy. He ran towards her and held her close to him. Usually Marguerite might have said something about this open show of affection, but she was just as worried about him so she held him just as close. The other three simply smiled at them and greeted each other.

Marguerite and Roxton finally pulled apart and examined each other. Marguerite was still extremely tired from her recent battle and it showed in her face, but she faired better than Roxton. Marguerite immediately scolded him for going and getting himself nearly killed and made him sit still while she cleaned and bandaged his cuts.

Summerlee and Marguerite tried to explain what had passed in the time that Challenger, Roxton, and Malone had been absent. They all had been grieved to hear of the death of Finn who had already grown to be a part of the family. They also learned of Abigail's health and all were prepared to be there for Veronica and help in anyway they could. She had not yet learned of Finn's death and they knew she had to be told sooner or later. Malone had volunteered himself for the duty and promised he would do anything he could to make sure Veronica got through this trying time.

After several hours, Veronica had still not left her mother's room. Malone volunteered to go check on her. He took in some food in case he could get her to eat something. Malone took the tray in with him and knocked lightly on the door. He entered and found Veronica sitting beside Abigail's bed and holding her mother's hand. She hadn't looked up at Malone's presence and seemed to be lost within her own thoughts. Malone set down the tray on a nearby table and took a seat beside Veronica. He placed his hand over her free one. "I'm here, Veronica."

At that Veronica looked up but wasn't startled by Malone's presence. She simply turned to him and he held her. Malone held her while she cried and he talked to her. He told her how Finn died and how much she loved Veronica. He was there for her as yet more grief entered her heart. "Everyone that I love dies, Ned. My mother was all I had left and she's gone. Now I have no one left."

Malone ran his hand over her back and through her hair. "That's not true, Veronica and you know it. Your friends are just on the other side of that door and they all love you."

"Maybe, but one day they'll leave and I'll be all alone again. My mother told me before she died that you are all free to leave the plateau now." Veronica continued to cry and Malone was at a loss to hear such words come from Veronica's mouth.

"You don't know that they will leave or that they won't come back. But you are not alone, you will never be alone. Because…"

Veronica pulled out of Malone's embrace and looked at him through her tear filled eyes. "Because what, Ned?"

"Because, Veronica…I love you and I won't ever leave you. I promise."

Veronica wiped her face with the back of her hand. "But what about London? The story that you have to tell?"

Malone smiled and took Veronica's hand. "I don't care about any of that. You are the only thing that matters in my life now. I know you told me several months ago that you only thought of me as a friend and if that's still true that won't change how I feel. I'll stay wherever you are and I'll always love you, Veronica."

Veronica felt the tears gathering in her eyes again and remembered what her mother told her only hours ago. _Trust in your heart, Veronica._ She hugged Malone and didn't try to stop the tears that flowed down her face again. "I love you too, Ned," she whispered.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The next day, everyone had gathered together for a morning meal. Everyone had been happy to be reunited and that they had beaten Dren and saved the plateau. The causalities of the war had been felt by all and the grief was still very strong.

Veronica had managed to speak to her friends of what Abigail told her about them leaving the plateau. While her friends were happy that they would one day for sure be able to leave, they didn't express an immediate desire to leave. Malone had told the others how he had planned to stay with Veronica at Avalon and would not be returning to London with them if they should ever decide to leave.

Marguerite and Roxton shared a smile from across the table at the happy news that was long in coming from those two. The night prior, had a long talk where Marguerite shared what she had learned from Abigail. Roxton had been just as shocked after learning their intended destinies. Roxton renewed his promise that he would help her find her parents whatever it took. Immediately after, he was wearing grin at which Marguerite laughed at. When she asked why he was looking at her with such a ridiculous look on his face he replied smugly, "_It seems_, _that you will never be rid of me now, Marguerite_."

Marguerite only smile coyly and decided to leave him with a question that left him loving her more than he thought possible. "_Who said I wanted to be rid of you?_" She rose to leave but stopped and seemed to be looking for something before she turned back to him. "_I believe you're missing one thing, Lord Roxton."_

"_And what would that be, my dear?" _

She reached from behind her and placed Roxton's hat on his head and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "_Wouldn't want you getting heat stroke in the jungle would we?" _

Now, Marguerite and Roxton were happy that their young friends had finally found happiness with each other. They watched as Challenger rose from his seat and raised his glass.

A memorial service for Finn and Abigail had been arranged as well as a feast in their honor. For now, the small group of friends held their own private feast and toasted the bravery, friendship, and lives of two dearly loved ones. They all raised their glasses in a toast.

"To Finn and Abigail, may they both rest in peace. You will both be dearly missed!"

"Cheers!"

"Challenger," Marguerite said as she put down her glass, "you would know this better than anybody I would imagine. What do you think happened to Finn? Do you think she was returned to her own time?"

Challenger was silent for a moment. "Curious you should ask, my dear for I have been pondering the very question myself. The Finn we knew does not exist because the future timeline has been forever altered. When Finn killed Zoth, she insured that the future would not be destroyed which is all she ever wanted. However, whether or not Zoth died or lived, Finn should still be born and I can only hope she is living the life she was denied. She certainly deserved it."

"Amen." They all chorused.

"Hopefully she will be happy in the future which is all we can wish for ourselves." Roxton raised his own glass and made another toast. "To love, to friendship, to happiness, and to family."

"Hear, hear!"

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"Finn! If I have to call you one more time young lady I'm feeding your breakfast to the dogs!"

Finn groaned and pushed the pillows that were on top of her head onto the floor and kicked off her sheets. "All right, mom, I'm coming! Let me take a shower first!"

"And don't use all the hot water this time, Finn! I don't earn money for it to literally go down the drain!"

Finn rolled her eyes. "All right, dad!" She shouted back. She grabbed some clothes out of her dresser and in her hurry knocked something over. She picked up her favorite stuffed animal and placed him back beside the window. "Sorry about that Edward."

Finn headed off to take her shower as Edward the Lion faced the city of New Amazonia, full of people and bursting with life.

THE END

_A/N: Thank you everyone who stuck with this story through the months! This was an enormous story and one I put a lot of hard work into. I really appreciate those who reviewed and let me know what was on their minds, I know a lot of people were following along because the story got over 9000 hits! I was surprised that so many people took an interest in the story and I can only hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!_


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